                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

REVIEW OF CONTINUATION OF SECURE INPATIENT TREATMENT HEARING; PROCEDURE AND
REPORTS; DISPOSITION (§ 37.2-910)

A. The committing court shall conduct a hearing 12 months after the date of
commitment to assess each respondent&#8217;s need for secure inpatient
treatment. A hearing for assessment shall be conducted at yearly intervals for
five years and at biennial intervals thereafter. The court shall schedule the
matter for hearing as soon as possible after it becomes due, giving the matter
priority over all pending matters before the court. A continuance extending the
review may be granted to either the Attorney General or the respondent upon good
cause shown or by agreement of the parties. Whenever practicable, the hearing
for assessment shall be conducted using a two-way electronic video and audio
communication system that meets the standards set forth in subsection B of
&#xA7; 19.2-3.1.

B. Prior to the hearing, the Commissioner shall provide to the court a report
reevaluating the respondent&#8217;s condition and recommending treatment. The
report shall be prepared by a licensed psychiatrist or a licensed clinical
psychologist skilled in the diagnosis and risk assessment of sex offenders and
knowledgeable about the treatment of sex offenders. If the Commissioner&#8217;s
report recommends discharge or the respondent requests discharge, the
respondent&#8217;s condition and need for secure inpatient treatment shall be
evaluated by a second person with such credentials who is not currently treating
the respondent. Any professional person who conducts a second evaluation of a
respondent shall submit a report of his findings to the court and the
Commissioner. A copy of any report submitted pursuant to this subsection shall
be sent to the Attorney General and to any attorney appointed or retained for
the respondent.

C. The burden of proof at the hearing shall be upon the Commonwealth to prove to
the court by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent remains a
sexually violent predator.

D. If the court finds, based upon the report and other evidence provided at the
hearing, that the respondent is no longer a sexually violent predator, the court
shall release the respondent from secure inpatient treatment. If the court finds
that the respondent remains a sexually violent predator, it shall order that he
remain in the custody of the Commissioner for secure inpatient hospitalization
and treatment or that he be conditionally released. To determine if the
respondent shall be conditionally released, the court shall determine if the
respondent meets the criteria for conditional release set forth in &#xA7;
37.2-912. If the court orders that the respondent be conditionally released, the
court shall allow the Department no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days
to prepare a conditional release plan. Any such plan must be able to accommodate
needed and appropriate supervision and treatment plans for the respondent,
including but not limited to, therapy or counseling, access to medications,
availability of travel, location of residence, and regular psychological
monitoring of the respondent if called for, including polygraph examinations,
penile plethysmograph testing, or sexual interest testing, if necessary. Access
to anti-androgen medications or other medication prescribed to lower blood serum
testosterone shall not be used as a primary reason for determining that less
restrictive alternatives are appropriate pursuant to this chapter. In preparing
the conditional release plan, the Department shall notify the attorney for the
Commonwealth, the chief law-enforcement officer, and the governing body for the
locality that is the proposed location of the respondent&#8217;s residence upon
his conditional release.
			If the court places the respondent on conditional release, the court shall
order the respondent to be subject to electronic monitoring of his location by
means of a GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking device, or other similar
device, at all times while he is on conditional release.

HISTORY: 1999, cc. 946, 985, § 37.1-70.11; 2001, c. 776; 2003, cc. 989, 1018;
2005, c. 716; 2006, cc. 698, 730, 863, 914; 2007, c. 876; 2011, cc. 42, 446,
448; 2013, c. 258; 2015, c. 662.