CONNECTICUT STATUTES AND CODES
Sec. 17a-566. (Formerly Sec. 17-244). Certain convicted persons to be examined. Report and recommendation.
Sec. 17a-566. (Formerly Sec. 17-244). Certain convicted persons to be examined. Report and recommendation. (a) Except as provided in section 17a-574 any
court prior to sentencing a person convicted of an offense for which the penalty may be
imprisonment in the Connecticut Correctional Institution at Somers, or of a sex offense
involving (1) physical force or violence, (2) disparity of age between an adult and a
minor or (3) a sexual act of a compulsive or repetitive nature, may if it appears to the
court that such person has psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself or others,
upon its own motion or upon request of any of the persons enumerated in subsection
(b) of this section and a subsequent finding that such request is justified, order the
commissioner to conduct an examination of the convicted defendant by qualified personnel of the division. Upon completion of such examination the examiner shall report in
writing to the court. Such report shall indicate whether the convicted defendant should
be committed to the diagnostic unit of the division for additional examination or should
be sentenced in accordance with the conviction. Such examination shall be conducted
and the report made to the court not later than fifteen days after the order for the examination. Such examination may be conducted at a correctional facility if the defendant is
confined or it may be conducted on an outpatient basis at the division or other appropriate
location. If the report recommends additional examination at the diagnostic unit, the
court may, after a hearing, order the convicted defendant committed to the diagnostic
unit of the division for a period not to exceed sixty days, except as provided in section
17a-567 provided the hearing may be waived by the defendant. Such commitment shall
not be effective until the director certifies to the court that space is available at the
diagnostic unit. While confined in said diagnostic unit, the defendant shall be given a
complete physical and psychiatric examination by the staff of the unit and may receive
medication and treatment without his consent. The director shall have authority to procure all court records, institutional records and probation or other reports which provide
information about the defendant.
(b) The request for such examination may be made by the state's attorney or assistant
state's attorney who prosecuted the defendant for an offense specified in this section,
or by the defendant or his attorney in his behalf. If the court orders such examination,
a copy of the examination order shall be served upon the defendant to be examined.
(c) Upon completion of the physical and psychiatric examination of the defendant,
but not later than sixty days after admission to the diagnostic unit, a written report of
the results thereof shall be filed in quadruplicate with the clerk of the court before which
he was convicted, and such clerk shall cause copies to be delivered to the state's attorney,
to counsel for the defendant and to the Court Support Services Division.
(d) Such report shall include the following: (1) A description of the nature of the
examination; (2) a diagnosis of the mental condition of the defendant; (3) an opinion
as to whether the diagnosis and prognosis demonstrate clearly that the defendant is
actually dangerous to himself or others and requires custody, care and treatment at the
division; and (4) a recommendation as to whether the defendant should be sentenced in
accordance with the conviction, sentenced in accordance with the conviction and confined in the institute for custody, care and treatment, placed on probation by the court
or placed on probation by the court with the requirement, as a condition to probation,
that he receive outpatient psychiatric treatment.
(1957, P.A. 650, S. 7; 1959, P.A. 426, S. 2; P.A. 73-245, S. 7; P.A. 80-470, S. 3, 11; P.A. 81-472, S. 39, 159; P.A. 85-350, S. 1; P.A. 95-257, S. 20, 48, 58; P.A. 02-132, S. 2.)
History: 1959 act deleted prerequisite for finding in Subsec. (d)(3) as to whether defendant is mentally ill, mentally
deficient or emotionally unbalanced and added requirement for opinion as to whether he is a danger to himself; P.A. 73-245 replaced "center", i.e. security treatment center, with "institute", i.e. Whiting Forensic Institute, and replaced "State
Prison" with "Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers"; P.A. 80-470 clarified provisions re psychiatric examinations
of convicted offenders and treatment in lieu of or in addition to imprisonment; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A.
85-350 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing "triplicate" with "quadruplicate" and by requiring copies to be delivered to the
office of adult probation; Sec. 17a-244 transferred to Sec. 17a-566 in 1991; P.A. 95-257 substituted "has psychiatric
disabilities" for "is mentally ill" and "division" for "institute", effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 02-132 amended Subsec. (c)
by replacing "Office of Adult Probation" with "Court Support Services Division".
See Sec. 53-22 re court-ordered psychiatric examinations.
Annotations to former section 17-244:
Cited. 190 C. 327. Cited. 198 C. 397. Cited. 200 C. 224. Cited. 205 C. 27. Cited. 210 C. 304; Id., 519. Cited. 216 C.
699. Cited. 224 C. 168. Cited. 227 C. 448.
Cited. 10 CA 546. Cited. 12 CA 32. Cited. 20 CA 737. Cited. 21 CA 172. Cited. 22 CA 601. Cited. 24 CA 13. Cited.
29 CA 386. Cited. 36 CA 641.
Cited. 41 CS 229.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 224 C. 168. Cited. 227 C. 448; Id., 928. Cited. 230 C. 591. Cited. 236 C. 31. Cited. 237 C. 633.
Cited. 29 CA 386. Cited. 32 CA 448. Cited. 36 CA 641. Cited. 37 CA 500; judgment reversed, see 237 C. 633. Statutory
psychiatric examination not required where adequate psychiatric documentation of defendant's mental condition has been
presented during the trial. 62 CA 256.
Subsec. (a):
Court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for presentence psychiatric examination where there
was no expert testimony of any mental disease or defect, no evidence of any prior or subsequent psychiatric disabilities
and no evidence in the record that defendant would be dangerous to himself or to others in prison. 63 CA 442. Defendant
may waive 15-day period for examination report to be made to the court, and time period may be extended if defendant
makes waiver knowingly and voluntarily. 101 CA 770.