                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EMERGENCY CUSTODY OF CONDITIONALLY RELEASED ACQUITTEE (§ 19.2-182.9)

When exigent circumstances do not permit compliance with revocation procedures
set forth in § 19.2-182.8, any district court judge or a special justice, as
defined in § 37.2-100, or a magistrate may issue an emergency custody order,
upon the sworn petition of any responsible person or upon his own motion based
upon probable cause to believe that an acquittee on conditional release (i) has
violated the conditions of his release or is no longer a proper subject for
conditional release and (ii) requires inpatient hospitalization. The emergency
custody order shall require the acquittee within his judicial district to be
taken into custody and transported to a convenient location where a person
designated by the community services board or behavioral health authority who is
skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness shall evaluate such
acquittee and assess his need for inpatient hospitalization. A law-enforcement
officer who, based on his observation or the reliable reports of others, has
probable cause to believe that any acquittee on conditional release has violated
the conditions of his release and is no longer a proper subject for conditional
release and requires emergency evaluation to assess the need for inpatient
hospitalization, may take the acquittee into custody and transport him to an
appropriate location to assess the need for hospitalization without prior
judicial authorization. The evaluation shall be conducted immediately. The
acquittee shall remain in custody until a temporary detention order is issued or
until he is released, but in no event shall the period of custody exceed eight
hours. If it appears from all evidence readily available (a) that the acquittee
has violated the conditions of his release or is no longer a proper subject for
conditional release and (b) that he requires emergency evaluation to assess the
need for inpatient hospitalization, the district court judge or a special
justice, as defined in § 37.2-100, or magistrate, upon the advice of such
person skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, may issue a
temporary detention order authorizing the executing officer to place the
acquittee in an appropriate institution for a period not to exceed 72 hours
prior to a hearing. If the 72-hour period terminates on a Saturday, Sunday,
legal holiday, or day on which the court is lawfully closed, the acquittee may
be detained until the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday,
or day on which the court is lawfully closed.
		The committing court or any district court judge or a special justice, as
defined in § 37.2-100, shall have jurisdiction to hear the matter. Prior to the
hearing, the acquittee shall be examined by a psychiatrist or licensed clinical
psychologist, provided the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist is skilled in
the diagnosis of mental illness, who shall certify whether the person is in need
of hospitalization. At the hearing the acquittee shall be provided with adequate
notice of the hearing, of the right to be present at the hearing, the right to
the assistance of counsel in preparation for and during the hearing, and the
right to introduce evidence and cross-examine witnesses at the hearing.
Following the hearing, if the court determines, based on a preponderance of the
evidence presented at the hearing, that the acquittee (1) has violated the
conditions of his release or is no longer a proper subject for conditional
release and (2) has mental illness or intellectual disability and is in need of
inpatient hospitalization, the court shall revoke the acquittee&#8217;s
conditional release and place him in the custody of the Commissioner.
		When an acquittee on conditional release pursuant to this chapter is taken
into emergency custody, detained, or hospitalized, such action shall be
considered to have been taken pursuant to this section, notwithstanding the fact
that his status as an insanity acquittee was not known at the time of custody,
detention, or hospitalization. Detention or hospitalization of an acquittee
pursuant to provisions of law other than those applicable to insanity acquittees
pursuant to this chapter shall not render the detention or hospitalization
invalid. If a person&#8217;s status as an insanity acquittee on conditional
release is not recognized at the time of emergency custody or detention, at the
time his status as such is verified, the provisions applicable to such persons
shall be applied and the court hearing the matter shall notify the committing
court of the proceedings.

HISTORY: 1991, c. 427; 1993, c. 295; 1996, cc. 937, 980; 2001, c. 837; 2005, c.
716; 2006, cc. 343, 370; 2008, c. 810; 2009, cc. 21, 838; 2012, cc. 476, 507;
2014, cc. 499, 538, 691, 761.