                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

VERDICT OF ACQUITTAL BY REASON OF INSANITY TO STATE THE FACT; TEMPORARY CUSTODY
AND EVALUATION (§ 19.2-182.2)

When the defense is insanity of the defendant at the time the offense was
committed, the jurors shall be instructed, if they acquit him on that ground, to
state the fact with their verdict. The court shall place the person so acquitted
(the acquittee) in temporary custody 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 court may authorize that the
evaluation be conducted on an outpatient basis. If the court 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 court 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 petition the court for an order to confine the acquittee in a
hospital for evaluation. A copy of the petition shall be sent to the
acquittee&#8217;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 § 19.2-182.3. The evaluators shall conduct their
examinations and report their findings separately within 45 days of the
Commissioner&#8217;s assumption of custody. Copies of the report shall be sent
to the acquittee&#8217;s attorney, the attorney for the Commonwealth for the
jurisdiction where the person was acquitted and the community services board or
behavioral health authority as designated by the Commissioner. If either
evaluator recommends conditional release or release without conditions of the
acquittee, the court shall extend the evaluation period to permit (a) the
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and (b) the
appropriate community services board or behavioral health authority to jointly
prepare a conditional release or discharge plan, as applicable, prior to the
hearing.

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.