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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>66912</law_id><section_number>19.2-182.2</section_number><catch_line>Verdict of acquittal by reason of insanity to state the fact; temporary custody and evaluation</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>18.2-308.1:1</reference><reference>19.2-169.1</reference><reference>19.2-169.5</reference><reference>19.2-174.1</reference><reference>19.2-182.14</reference><reference>19.2-182.6</reference><reference>19.2-389</reference><reference>19.2-390</reference><reference>19.2-392.02</reference><reference>37.2-1102</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="19.2">Criminal Procedure</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="11.1">Disposition of Persons Acquitted by Reason of Insanity</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>When the defense is <span class="dictionary">insanity</span> of the <span class="dictionary">defendant</span> at the time the <span class="dictionary">offense</span> was committed, the jurors shall be instructed, if they <span class="dictionary">acquit</span> him on that ground, to state the <span class="dictionary">fact</span> with their <span class="dictionary">verdict</span>. The <span class="dictionary">court</span> shall place the person so acquitted (the acquittee) in temporary <span class="dictionary">custody</span> of the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the Commissioner) for evaluation as to whether the acquittee may be released with or without conditions or requires commitment. The <span class="dictionary">court</span> may authorize that the evaluation be conducted on an outpatient basis. If the <span class="dictionary">court</span> authorizes an outpatient evaluation, the Commissioner shall determine, on the basis of all information available, whether the evaluation shall be conducted on an outpatient basis or whether the acquittee shall be confined in a hospital for evaluation. If the <span class="dictionary">court</span> does not authorize an outpatient evaluation, the acquittee shall be confined in a hospital for evaluation. If an acquittee who is being evaluated on an outpatient basis fails to comply with such evaluation, the Commissioner shall <span class="dictionary">petition</span> the <span class="dictionary">court</span> for an <span class="dictionary">order</span> to confine the acquittee in a hospital for evaluation. A copy of the <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall be sent to the acquittee&#x2019;s attorney and the attorney for the Commonwealth. The evaluation shall be conducted by (i) one psychiatrist and (ii) one clinical psychologist. The psychiatrist or clinical psychologist shall be skilled in the diagnosis of mental illness and intellectual disability and qualified by training and experience to perform such evaluations. The Commissioner shall appoint both evaluators. In the case of an acquittee confined in a hospital, at least one of the evaluators shall not be employed by the hospital in which the acquittee is primarily confined. The evaluators shall determine whether the acquittee currently has mental illness or intellectual disability and shall assess the acquittee and report on his condition and need for hospitalization with respect to the factors set forth in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Commitment; civil proceedings" href="/19.2-182.3/">19.2-182.3</a>. The evaluators shall conduct their examinations and report their <span class="dictionary">findings</span> separately within 45 days of the Commissioner&#x2019;s assumption of <span class="dictionary">custody</span>. Copies of the report shall be sent to the acquittee&#x2019;s attorney, the attorney for the Commonwealth for the <span class="dictionary">jurisdiction</span> where the person was acquitted and the <span class="dictionary">community services</span> board or behavioral health authority as designated by the Commissioner. If either evaluator recommends conditional release or release without conditions of the acquittee, the <span class="dictionary">court</span> shall extend the evaluation period to permit (a) the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and (b) the appropriate <span class="dictionary">community services</span> board or behavioral health authority to jointly prepare a conditional release or discharge plan, as applicable, prior to the <span class="dictionary">hearing</span>.</p></section></text><history>1991, c. 427; 1993, c. 295; 1996, cc. 937, 980; 2007, cc. 485, 565; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2018, c. 16.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
