SECTIONS 5200-5213 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 5200-5213

5200. Any person alleged, as a result of mental disorder, to be a
danger to others, or to himself, or to be gravely disabled, may be
given an evaluation of his condition under a superior court order
pursuant to this article. The provisions of this article shall be
carried out with the utmost consideration for the privacy and dignity
of the person for whom a court-ordered evaluation is requested.

5201. Any individual may apply to the person or agency designated
by the county for a petition alleging that there is in the county a
person who is, as a result of mental disorder a danger to others, or
to himself, or is gravely disabled, and requesting that an evaluation
of the person's condition be made.

5202. The person or agency designated by the county shall prepare
the petition and all other forms required in the proceeding, and
shall be responsible for filing the petition. Before filing the
petition, the person or agency designated by the county shall request
the person or agency designated by the county and approved by the
State Department of Mental Health to provide prepetition screening to
determine whether there is probable cause to believe the
allegations. The person or agency providing prepetition screening
shall conduct a reasonable investigation of the allegations and make
a reasonable effort to personally interview the subject of the
petition. The screening shall also determine whether the person will
agree voluntarily to receive crisis intervention services or an
evaluation in his own home or in a facility designated by the county
and approved by the State Department of Mental Health. Following
prepetition screening, the person or agency designated by the county
shall file the petition if satisfied that there is probable cause to
believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger
to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, and that
the person will not voluntarily receive evaluation or crisis
intervention.
If the petition is filed, it shall be accompanied by a report
containing the findings of the person or agency designated by the
county to provide prepetition screening. The prepetition screening
report submitted to the superior court shall be confidential and
shall be subject to the provisions of Section 5328.

5203. Any individual who seeks a petition for court-ordered
evaluation knowing that the person for whom the petition is sought is
not, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to himself, or to
others, or gravely disabled is guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be
held liable in civil damages by the person against whom the petition
was sought.

5204. The petition for a court-ordered evaluation shall contain the
following:
(a) The name and address of the petitioner and his interest in the
case.
(b) The name of the person alleged, as a result of mental
disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself, or to be gravely
disabled, and, if known to the petitioner, the address, age, sex,
marital status, and occupation of the person.
(c) The facts upon which the allegations of the petition are
based.
(d) The name of, as a respondent thereto, every person known or
believed by the petitioner to be legally responsible for the care,
support, and maintenance of the person alleged, as a result of mental
disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself, or to be gravely
disabled, and the address of each such person, if known to the
petitioner.
(e) Such other information as the court may require.

5205. The petition shall be in substantially the following form:

In the Superior Court of the State of
California
for the County of _____
_____________________________
No. _____
The People of the State of
California Petition for
Concerning
_____________________________ Evaluation
and
_____________________________
Respondents
_____________________________
________, residing at _____ (tel. ____), being
duly sworn, alleges: That there is now in the
county, in the City or
Town of _____, a person named _____, who resides
at
_____, and who is, as a result of mental disorder:
(1) A danger to
others.
(2) A danger to himself or
herself.
(3) Gravely disabled as defined in subdivision
(h) of Section
5008 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (Strike
out all
inapplicable classifications).
That the person is ____ years of age; that __ the
person is ____(sex); and that __ the person is
_____ (single, married, widowed, or
divorced); and that _____ occupation is _____.
That the facts upon which the allegations of the
petition are
based are as follows: That __ the person, at
_____ in the county, on
the _____ day of _____, 20__,
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
That petitioner's interest in the case is
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
That the person responsible for the care,
support, and
maintenance of the person, and their relationship
to the person are,
so far as known to the petitioner, as follows:
(Give names,
addresses, and relationship of persons named as
respondents)
Wherefore, petitioner prays that evaluation be
made to
determine the condition of ____, alleged, as a
result of mental
disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself
or herself, or to
be gravely disabled.
_______________________
Petitioner
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ____ day
of
_____ 20__.
________, Clerk of the
Court
By ____________ Deputy

5206. Whenever it appears, by petition pursuant to this article, to
the satisfaction of a judge of a superior court that a person is, as
a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself, or
gravely disabled, and the person has refused or failed to accept
evaluation voluntarily, the judge shall issue an order notifying the
person to submit to an evaluation at such time and place as
designated by the judge. The order for an evaluation shall be served
as provided in Section 5208 by a peace officer, counselor in mental
health, or a court-appointed official. The person shall be permitted
to remain in his home or other place of his choosing prior to the
time of evaluation, and shall be permitted to be accompanied by one
or more of his relatives, friends, an attorney, a personal physician,
or other professional or religious advisor to the place of
evaluation. If the person to receive evaluation so requests, the
individual or individuals who accompany him may be present during the
evaluation.
If the person refuses or fails to appear for evaluation after
having been properly notified, a peace officer, counselor in mental
health, or a court-appointed official shall take the person into
custody and place him in a facility designated by the county as a
facility for treatment and evaluation. The person shall be evaluated
as promptly as possible, and shall in no event be detained longer
than 72 hours under the court order, excluding Saturdays, Sundays,
and holidays if treatment and evaluation services are not available
on those days.
Persons who have been detained for evaluation shall be released,
referred for care and treatment on a voluntary basis, certified for
intensive treatment, or recommended for conservatorship pursuant to
this part, as required.

5207. The order for evaluation shall be in substantially the
following form:
In the Superior Court of the State of California
for the County of ________

__________________________________________________
The People of the State of California No. ______
Concerning Order
___________________________________________ and for
_______________________________________________ Evaluation
Respondents or Detention
__________________________________________________

The People of the State of California to ______________________
_________________________________________________________________:
(Peace officer, counselor in mental health, or
other official appointed by the court)

The petition of ____ has been presented this day to me, a Judge of
the Superior Court for the County of ____, State of California, from
which it appears that there is now in this county, at ____, a person
by the name of ____, who is, as a result of mental disorder, a
danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled.
Now, therefore, you are directed to notify ____ to submit to an
evaluation at ____ on the ____ day of ____, 19_, at __ o'clock __m.
____ shall be permitted to be accompanied by one or more of his
relatives, friends, an attorney, a personal physician, or other
professional or religious advisor.
The individual or individuals who accompany ____ may be present
during the evaluation if so requested by ____.

*Provision for Detention for Evaluation

If the person fails or refuses to appear for evaluation when
notified by order of this court, you are hereby directed to detain
said ____ or cause him to be detained at ____ for a period no longer
than 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays if
evaluation services are not available on those days, for the purposes
of evaluation.

I hereby direct that a copy of this order together with a copy of
the petition be delivered to said person and his representative, if
any, at the time of his notification; and I further authorize the
service of this order at any hour of the day or night.
Witness my hand, this ____ day of ____, 19_
___________________________________________________
Judge of the Superior Court

*This paragraph is applicable only if the person to be evaluated
fails or refuses to appear for evaluation after having been properly
notified.

Return of Order

I hereby certify that I received the above order for the
evaluation of ____ and on the ____ day of ____, 19_, personally
served a copy of the order and of the petition on ____ and the
professional person in charge of the ____, a facility for treatment
and evaluation, or his designee.
Dated: ____, 19_.
_______________________________________________
Signature and Title

5208. As promptly as possible, a copy of the petition and the order
for evaluation shall be personally served on the person to be
evaluated and the professional person in charge of the facility for
treatment and evaluation named in the order, or his designee.
If the person to be evaluated fails to appear for an evaluation at
the time designated in the order, the professional person in charge,
or his designee, shall notify the person who served the order to
have the person to be evaluated detained pursuant to the order.

5210. At the time a person is taken into custody for evaluation, or
within a reasonable time thereafter, unless a responsible relative
or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the
person's personal property, the person taking him into custody shall
take reasonable precautions to preserve and safeguard the personal
property in the possession of or on the premises occupied by the
person. The person taking him into custody shall then furnish to the
court a report generally describing the person's property so
preserved and safeguarded and its disposition, in substantially the
form set forth in Section 5211; except that if a responsible relative
or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the
person's property, the report shall include only the name of the
relative or guardian or conservator and the location of the property,
whereupon responsibility of the person taking him into custody for
such property shall terminate.
As used in this section, "responsible relative" includes the
spouse, parent, adult child, or adult brother or sister of the
person, except that it does not include the person who applied for
the petition under this article.

5211. The report of a patient's property required by Section 5210
to be made by the person taking him into custody for evaluation shall
be in substantially the following form:

Report of Officer

I hereby report to the Superior Court for the County of _____ that
the personal property of the person apprehended, described generally
as ____ was preserved and safeguarded by ____ (Insert name of person
taking him into custody, responsible relative, guardian, or
conservator).
That property is now located at ____.

Dated: ____ 19__.
____________________________
Signature and Title

5212. Whenever possible, persons charged with service of orders and
apprehension of persons pursuant to this article shall dress in
plain clothes and travel in unmarked vehicles.

5213. (a) If, upon evaluation, the person is found to be in need of
treatment because he or she is, as a result of mental disorder, a
danger to others, or to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled,
he or she may be detained for treatment in a facility for 72-hour
treatment and evaluation. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays may be
excluded from the 72-hour period if the State Department of Mental
Health certifies for each facility that evaluation and treatment
services cannot reasonably be made available on those days. The
certification by the department is subject to renewal every two
years. The department shall adopt regulations defining criteria for
determining whether a facility can reasonably be expected to make
evaluation and treatment services available on Saturdays, Sundays,
and holidays.
(b) Persons who have been detained for evaluation and treatment,
who are receiving medications as a result of their mental illness,
shall be given, as soon as possible after detention, written and oral
information about the probable effects and possible side effects of
the medication, by a person designated by the mental health facility
where the person is detained. The State Department of Mental Health
shall develop and promulgate written materials on the effects of
medications, for use by county mental health programs as disseminated
or as modified by the county mental health program, addressing the
probable effects and the possible side effects of the medication. The
following information shall be given orally to the patient:
(1) The nature of the mental illness, or behavior, that is the
reason the medication is being given or recommended.
(2) The likelihood of improving or not improving without the
medications.
(3) Reasonable alternative treatments available.
(4) The name and type, frequency, amount, and method of dispensing
the medications, and the probable length of time that the
medications will be taken.
The fact that the information has or has not been given shall be
indicated in the patient's chart. If the information has not been
given, the designated person shall document in the patient's chart
the justification for not providing the information. A failure to
give information about the probable effects and possible side effects
of the medication shall not constitute new grounds for release.