Arizona Laws 36-529. Order for evaluation; order for detention; hearing; personal service of court orders
A. If, from the review of the petition for evaluation, the court does not determine that the proposed patient is likely to present a danger to self or others or further deteriorate before the proposed patient‘s hearing on court-ordered treatment, but determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the proposed patient is, as a result of a mental disorder, a danger to self or others or has a persistent or acute disability or a grave disability, the court shall issue an order directing the proposed patient to submit to an evaluation at a designated time and place, specifying that the evaluation will take place on an inpatient or an outpatient basis. The court may also order that, if the person does not or cannot so submit, the person be taken into custody by a peace officer and delivered to an evaluation agency. If the court makes such a conditional order, it shall also make a conditional appointment of counsel for the person to become effective when and if the person is taken into custody pursuant to this section.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 36-529
- Court: means the superior court in the county in this state in which the patient resides or was found before screening or emergency admission under this title. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Evaluation: means :
(a) A professional multidisciplinary analysis that may include firsthand observations or remote observations by interactive audiovisual media and that is based on data describing the person's identity, biography and medical, psychological and social conditions carried out by a group of persons consisting of at least the following:
(i) Two licensed physicians who are qualified psychiatrists, if possible, or at least experienced in psychiatric matters, who shall examine and report their findings independently. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Evaluation agency: means either of the following:
(a) A health care agency that is licensed by the department and that has been approved pursuant to this title to provide the services required of that agency by this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Grave disability: means a condition evidenced by behavior in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder, is likely to come to serious physical harm or serious illness because the person is unable to provide for the person's own basic physical needs. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Mental disorder: means a substantial disorder of the person's emotional processes, thought, cognition or memory. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Patient: means any person who is undergoing examination, evaluation or behavioral or mental health treatment under this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Persistent or acute disability: means a severe mental disorder that meets all the following criteria:
(a) Significantly impairs judgment, reason, behavior or capacity to recognize reality. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Proposed patient: means a person for whom an application for evaluation has been made or a petition for court-ordered evaluation has been filed. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Prosecuting agency: means the county attorney, attorney general or city attorney who applied or petitioned for an evaluation or treatment pursuant to this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
B. If, from review of the petition for evaluation, there is reasonable cause to believe that the proposed patient is, as a result of a mental disorder, a danger to self or others or has a persistent or acute disability or a grave disability and that the person requires immediate or continued hospitalization before the proposed patient’s hearing on court-ordered treatment, the court shall order the proposed patient taken into custody and evaluated at an evaluation agency. The court shall promptly appoint counsel for the proposed patient. If an intercounty agreement authorizes the same, the court may order that the evaluation be conducted in another county, and the superior court in the county where the evaluation is conducted has concurrent jurisdiction to make appropriate orders concerning the proposed patient.
C. If the person is not taken into custody or if the evaluation pursuant to the order of the court under subsection A or B of this section is not initiated within fourteen days after the date of the order, the order and petition for evaluation expire. If a prosecutor filed a petition pursuant to section 13-4517, the court and the prosecuting agency shall receive notice of the expiration of the order for evaluation. The court may enter any orders necessary for further disposition pursuant to section 13-4517, including a pickup order directing that the person be taken into custody. This subsection does not prevent any person from initiating another court-ordered evaluation of the person pursuant to this chapter.
D. If the person is involuntarily hospitalized, the person shall be informed by the person’s appointed attorney of the right to a hearing to determine whether the person should be involuntarily hospitalized for evaluation and to be represented at the hearing by an attorney. If the person requests a hearing to determine whether the person should be involuntarily hospitalized during evaluation, the court shall schedule a hearing at its earliest opportunity.
E. A copy of any order issued by the court pursuant to subsection A or B of this section, together with a copy of the petition for court-ordered evaluation, shall be personally served on the proposed patient as prescribed by law or court rule or as ordered by the court.