Title 22

(a) The director of a state mental health facility or designated mental health facility to which a respondent is currently committed for inpatient treatment, not later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the current commitment order, shall assess the appropriateness of transf…

(a) A respondent may be committed to outpatient treatment if the judge of probate, based upon clear and convincing evidence, finds all of the following: (1) The respondent has a mental illness or a mental illness with a secondary diagnosis of co-occurring substance use disorder. …

(a) At the final hearing on a petition for commitment seeking the involuntary commitment of a respondent, the probate court may order that the respondent participate in outpatient treatment provided by a designated mental health facility. (b) The probate court shall not order out…

(a) A respondent may be committed to inpatient treatment if the judge of probate, based upon clear and convincing evidence, finds that all of the following are true: (1) The respondent has a mental illness or a mental illness with a secondary diagnosis of co-occurring substance u…

(a) At the final hearing on a petition for involuntary commitment or a hearing for the revocation of a prior order for commitment to outpatient treatment, the probate court may order that the respondent be committed to: (i) the department for inpatient treatment at a state mental…

(a) A petition for renewal of an inpatient commitment order may be filed by the director of a state mental health facility or his designee at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the current commitment order. The petition, together with a copy of the original commitment order…

A respondent committed to inpatient treatment may be transferred from any treatment facility to another treatment facility when deemed to be in the best interest of the respondent. Any law enforcement officer or any designated employee of the department or designated mental healt…

(a) When the judge of probate of a county enters an order for the involuntary commitment of a person pursuant to Section 22-52-10.1, and the order is for a final commitment for inpatient treatment to the Department of Mental Health or a Veterans’ Administration hospital, or as ot…

(a)(1) Upon any finding that a defendant is insane, mentally incompetent, or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to Chapter 16 of Title 15, or the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure, the judge shall immediately forward the order of the finding to the Alabam…

The probate court involuntarily committing a respondent shall retain jurisdiction over the respondent concurrently with the probate court of the county in which the respondent is subsequently located for so long as the respondent is subject to the commitment order, and the probat…

The probate judge shall order one or more persons or law enforcement officers to convey any respondent involuntarily committed for inpatient treatment to the department or to a designated mental health facility as the court may order, and all necessary expenses incurred by the pe…

(a) The department shall designate certain mental health facilities that shall have the authority to receive respondents for evaluation, admission, detention, treatment and discharge pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. (b) The department shall establish standards of care …

With regard to those patients who shall have been committed to state mental health facilities for 150 days or more as of January 1, 1992, the directors of such facilities or their designees shall petition for renewal of the commitment orders affecting such patients as appropriate…

(a) Any respondent involuntarily committed by the probate court to the custody of the department or designated mental health facility as the court may order, who is entitled to care and treatment at a facility operated by the United States Veterans Administration or other agency …

In any commitment proceeding, the fees of any attorney appointed by the probate judge to act as advocate for the petition and any attorney or guardian ad litem appointed by the probate judge for the person sought to be committed shall be set at the rates established by Section 15…

An appeal from an order of the probate court granting a petition seeking to commit a respondent to the custody of the department or designated mental health facility as the court may order lies to the circuit court for trial de novo unless the probate judge who granted the petiti…

This article does not apply to commitment to the custody of the State Department of Mental Health of individuals under the age of 19 years who are mentally ill. (Act 2019-447, §1.)

Notwithstanding any other language in this article, the following limitations shall apply. No public facility other than the Department of Mental Health may be required (as distinguished from authorized) by the probate court to perform any mental evaluation of a person sought to …

(a) When any petition is filed seeking the involuntary commitment of a respondent, the probate judge shall immediately review the petition and shall require the petitioner to be sworn and answer under oath questions regarding the petition and the respondent. (b) If it appears fro…

When any petition has been filed seeking the involuntary commitment of a respondent and the petition has been reviewed by the judge of probate, the judge of probate shall order the sheriff of the county in which the respondent was located at the time of the filing to serve a copy…

(a) At the time when any petition has been filed seeking the involuntary commitment of a respondent, the probate judge shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent and to protect the rights of the respondent, and shall determine if the respondent has the funds with which to emp…

The probate judge shall appoint an attorney to serve as the advocate in support of the petition to commit in all matters regarding a petition to commit. If the person or persons filing a petition to have a person committed wish to employ an attorney of their own choosing to appea…

(a) When a petition is filed seeking the involuntary commitment of a respondent, the probate judge with whom the petition is filed shall notify the department or designated mental health facility of the pendency of the petition in the manner and with such other information as des…

(a)(1) When a petition has been filed seeking to have limitations placed upon the liberty of a respondent pending the outcome of a final hearing on the merits, the judge of probate shall order the sheriff of the county in which the respondent was located at the time of the filing…

(a) When any respondent sought to be committed has any limitation imposed upon his liberty or any temporary treatment imposed upon him by the probate judge pending final hearings on such petition, the probate judge, at the time such limitation or treatment is imposed, shall set a…

At all hearings, including probable cause hearings, conducted by the probate judge in relation to a petition to involuntarily commit a respondent, the following rules shall apply: (1) The respondent shall be present unless, prior to the hearing, the attorney for the respondent ha…

When used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) CAPACITY TO PROCEED OR CONTINUE TO TRIAL. Whether or not a defendant accused of a crime: a. Understands the nature of the charges pr…

(a) Upon certification by the superintendent of Bryce or Searcy Hospital or any other facility so designated by the commissioner that any person accused of a crime and committed to the custody of the department in one of its facilities has been determined by appropriate members o…

Where the superintendent of Bryce or Searcy Hospital or any other facility so designated by the commissioner, after evaluation by appropriate members of the medical staffs of said facilities as so designated by the superintendent, has determined that any person accused of a crime…

Where any person who is currently in the custody of the Department of Mental Health has been adjudicated “not guilty by reason of insanity” pursuant to the provisions of Sections 15-16-24, 15-16-25 and 15-16-40, the commissioner or his designee shall petition the judges of probat…

(a) Where any person is in the custody of the Department of Mental Health pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 of this chapter, the commissioner shall direct the superintendent of Bryce or Searcy Hospital or any other facility so designated by the commissioner to reevaluate th…

(a) Upon application of the commissioner or his designee, the Governor may appoint one or more special judges of probate for the purpose of considering, hearing and entering appropriate orders with regard to the commitment or continued custody of such persons who have been commit…

(a) There is hereby appropriated to the State Comptroller from the general fund of the State Treasurer the sum of $20,000.00 for the purpose of paying salaries and expenses of such special probate judges appointed under the provisions of this article. (b) All special judges of pr…

(a) Any civil commitment proceedings are to be conducted in accordance with the following constitutional due process standards: (1) Adequate notice of the hearing and its purpose shall be given sufficiently in advance of the scheduled proceedings to permit a reasonable opportunit…

As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings: (1) DESIGNATED MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY. A mental health facility other than a state mental health facility designated by the state Department of Mental Health to receive persons for evaluat…

(a)(1) When a law enforcement officer is confronted by circumstances that give the law enforcement officer reasonable cause for believing that an individual within the county has a mental illness and that the individual is likely to pose a real and present threat of substantial h…

(a) This article shall not be applicable to any county unless and until the judge of probate with the approval of the county commission of that particular county makes a finding that there exists in the county provisions for implementation of the community mental health officer p…

No county shall be required to pay costs associated with the temporary confinement or commitment of a person to a designated mental health facility, including, but not limited to, the cost of housing and treatment. All costs associated with a probable cause hearing, including cos…