HF 920

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to civil commitment; requiring case captions 
  1.3             to refer to the proposed patient by initials; 
  1.4             requiring sealing of commitment court records; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 253B.07, 
  1.6             subdivision 2; and 253B.23, subdivision 9. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 253B.07, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [THE PETITION.] (a) Any interested person, except 
  1.11  a member of the prepetition screening team, may file a petition 
  1.12  for commitment in the district court of the county of the 
  1.13  proposed patient's residence or presence.  If the head of the 
  1.14  treatment facility believes that commitment is required and no 
  1.15  petition has been filed, the head of the treatment facility 
  1.16  shall seek a petition for the commitment of the person. 
  1.17     (b) The petition shall set forth the name and address of 
  1.18  the proposed patient, the name and address of the patient's 
  1.19  nearest relatives, and the reasons for the petition.  The 
  1.20  caption of the case must refer to the proposed patient by 
  1.21  initials only.  The petition must contain factual descriptions 
  1.22  of the proposed patient's recent behavior, including a 
  1.23  description of the behavior, where it occurred, and the time 
  1.24  period over which it occurred.  Each factual allegation must be 
  1.25  supported by observations of witnesses named in the petition.  
  1.26  Petitions shall be stated in behavioral terms and shall not 
  2.1   contain judgmental or conclusory statements.  
  2.2      (c) The petition shall be accompanied by a written 
  2.3   statement by an examiner stating that the examiner has examined 
  2.4   the proposed patient within the 15 days preceding the filing of 
  2.5   the petition and is of the opinion that the proposed patient is 
  2.6   suffering a designated disability and should be committed to a 
  2.7   treatment facility.  The statement shall include the reasons for 
  2.8   the opinion.  In the case of a commitment based on mental 
  2.9   illness, the petition and the examiner's statement may include, 
  2.10  to the extent this information is available, a statement and 
  2.11  opinion regarding the proposed patient's need for treatment with 
  2.12  neuroleptic medication and the patient's capacity to make 
  2.13  decisions regarding the administration of neuroleptic 
  2.14  medications, and the reasons for the opinion.  If a petitioner 
  2.15  has been unable to secure a statement from an examiner, the 
  2.16  petition shall include documentation that a reasonable effort 
  2.17  has been made to secure the supporting statement.  
  2.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 253B.23, 
  2.19  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 9.  [SEALING OF RECORDS.] Upon a motion by a person 
  2.21  who has been the subject of a judicial commitment proceeding, 
  2.22  The court may shall seal all judicial records of the commitment 
  2.23  proceedings if it finds that access to the records creates undue 
  2.24  hardship for the person for a mentally ill, mentally ill and 
  2.25  dangerous, or chemically dependent person.  The county attorney 
  2.26  shall be notified of the motion and may participate in the 
  2.27  hearings.  All hearings on the motion shall be in camera.  The 
  2.28  files and records of the court in proceedings on the motion 
  2.29  shall be sealed except to the moving party person, the person's 
  2.30  attorney, the county attorney, or other persons by court order.  
  2.31  The files and records must be made available as otherwise 
  2.32  required by law.