Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:69 – Procedure
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:69
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Behavioral health: is a term used to refer to both mental health and substance use. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Dangerous to self: means the condition of a person whose behavior, significant threats or inaction supports a reasonable expectation that there is a substantial risk that he will inflict physical or sever emotional harm upon his own person. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Department: means the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Gravely disabled: means the condition of a person who is unable to provide for his own basic physical needs, such as essential food, clothing, medical care, or shelter, as a result of serious mental illness or a substance-related or addictive disorder and is unable to survive safely in freedom or protect himself from serious physical harm or significant psychiatric deterioration. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Local governing entity: means an integrated human services delivery system with local accountability and management and which provides behavioral health and developmental disabilities services through local human services districts and authorities. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Medical psychologist: means a psychologist who has undergone specialized training in clinical psychopharmacology and has passed a national proficiency examination in psychopharmacology approved by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and who holds a current and valid license from the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Mental health advocacy service: means a service established by the state of Louisiana for the purpose of providing legal counsel and representation for persons with mental illness or substance-related or addictive disorders and for ensuring that the legal rights of those persons are protected. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Petition: means a written civil complaint filed by a person of legal age alleging that a person has a mental illness or is suffering from a substance-related or addictive disorder and requires judicial commitment to a treatment facility. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Physician: means an individual licensed to practice medicine by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners in active practice or an individual in a post-graduate medical training program of an accredited medical school in Louisiana or a medical officer similarly qualified by the government of the United States while in the state in the performance of his official duties. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner: means an advanced practice registered nurse licensed to practice as a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, in accordance with the provisions of Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Psychiatrist: means a physician who has at least three years of formal training or primary experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Psychologist: means an individual licensed to practice psychology in Louisiana in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Respondent: means a person alleged to have a mental illness or be suffering from a substance-related or addictive disorder and for whom an application for commitment to a treatment facility has been filed. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Treatment: means an active effort to accomplish an improvement in the mental condition or behavior of a patient or to prevent deterioration in his condition or behavior. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
A.(1) Upon the filing of the petition authorized by La. Rev. Stat. 28:67, the court shall assign a time and place for a hearing as promptly as is practical, but in no case later than eighteen days after the filing of the petition, which may be conducted before any judge in the judicial district and shall cause reasonable notice thereof and a copy of the petition to be served upon the respondent, respondent’s attorney, the petitioner, and the director of the local governing entity in the parish where the petition has been filed. The notice shall inform the respondent that he has a right to be present, a right to retain counsel, has the right to counsel appointed to represent him by the Mental Health Advocacy Service, and a right to cross-examine witnesses. Continuances shall be granted only for good cause shown.
(2) In addition to those persons entitled to notice pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, if the respondent is interdicted, notice of the hearing and a copy of the petition shall also be served upon the curator for the interdict.
(3) The court may order the service of all pleadings, notices, and written treatment plans required in this Part pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Article 1313(A), without regard to Article 1313(B).
B.(1) As soon as is practical after the filing of the petition, the court shall review the petition and supporting documents and determine whether there exists probable cause to believe that the respondent is suffering from mental illness which renders him unlikely to voluntarily participate in the recommended treatment and, in view of the treatment history and current behavior of the respondent, he is in need of involuntary outpatient treatment to prevent a relapse or deterioration which would be likely to result in him becoming dangerous to self or others or gravely disabled as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 28:2.
(2) If the court determines that probable cause exists, the court shall appoint a physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist to examine the respondent and to provide a written Physician‘s Report to Court and testify at the hearing. The Physician’s Report to Court shall be completed on the form provided by the office of behavioral health of the Louisiana Department of Health and provided to the court, the respondent’s counsel, and the petitioner’s counsel at least three days before the hearing. Nothing in this Paragraph shall prevent the court from appointing a willing and available physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist who has been put forth by the petitioner or from accepting a Physician’s Report to Court that has been completed pursuant to an examination of the respondent conducted within ten days prior to the filing of the petition.
(3) The Physician’s Report to Court shall set forth specifically the objective factors leading to the conclusion that the respondent has a mental illness that renders him unlikely to voluntarily participate in the recommended treatment and, in view of the treatment history and current behavior of the respondent, he is in need of involuntary outpatient treatment to prevent a relapse or deterioration which would be likely to result in his becoming dangerous to self or others or gravely disabled as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 28:2. The report shall also include recommendations for a treatment plan.
(4) The court-appointed physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or medical psychologist may be the respondent’s treating physician, treating psychiatric nurse practitioner, or treating medical psychologist.
C. The court shall conduct a hearing on the petition which shall take precedence over all other matters, except pending cases of the same type. The court shall admit evidence according to the Code of Evidence. Witnesses and evidence tending to show that the respondent is a proper subject for outpatient placement shall be presented first. If the respondent does not appear at the hearing, and service of process was proper and appropriate attempts to elicit attendance failed, the court may conduct the hearing in the absence of the respondent, but the court shall state the factual basis for conducting the hearing without the respondent.
D. The court shall not order involuntary outpatient treatment unless an examining physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist, who has personally examined the respondent, testifies at the hearing, in person or via electronic means, with consent of all of the parties, regarding the categories of involuntary outpatient treatment recommended, the rationale for each category, facts which establish that such treatment is the least restrictive alternative, and, if recommended, the beneficial and detrimental physical and mental effects of medication and whether such medication should be self-administered or administered by an authorized professional.
E. If the respondent has refused to be examined by the court-ordered physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist, the court shall order the sheriff’s department to take the respondent into custody and transport him to a psychiatrist‘s office, behavioral health center, hospital, or emergency receiving center. Retention of the respondent in accordance with the court order shall not exceed twenty-four hours. The examining physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist shall be authorized to consult with the respondent’s treating physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist.
F. A physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or psychologist who testifies pursuant to Subsection D of this Section shall state the facts which support the allegation that the respondent meets each of the criteria for involuntary outpatient treatment, the treatment is the least restrictive alternative, the recommended involuntary outpatient treatment, and the rationale. If the recommended involuntary outpatient treatment includes medication, the testimony of the physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, or medical psychologist shall describe the types or classes of medication which should be authorized, the beneficial and detrimental physical and mental effects of such medication, and whether the medication should be self-administered or administered by authorized personnel.
G. The respondent shall be afforded an opportunity to present evidence, to call witnesses on his behalf, and to cross-examine adverse witnesses.
H. Each court shall keep a record of cases relating to persons who have a mental illness coming before the court pursuant to the provisions of this Title and the disposition of those cases. Each court shall also keep on file the original petition and certificates of physicians required by this Section, or a microfilm duplicate of such records. All records maintained in courts pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be sealed and available only to the parties to the case, unless a court, after a hearing held with notice to the respondent, determines such records should be disclosed to a petitioner for cause shown. Any hearing conducted in accordance with this Subsection shall be closed to the public.
Acts 2008, No. 407, §2; Acts 2009, No. 384, §5, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2013, No. 226, §1; Acts 2017, No. 369, §2; Acts 2018, No. 206, §1; Acts 2018, No. 375, §1; Acts 2021, No. 329, §1; Acts 2022, No. 382, §1.