§ 33-3-612 — Evidence - Witnesses - Continuances - Presence or exclusion of defendant

(a) The court shall give the defendant, the plaintiff, and all other persons to whom the clerk is required to give notice of the proceeding, an opportunity to appear at the hearing, to testify, and to present and cross-examine witnesses. (b) The defendant shall be present at the hearing unless the defendant waives the right to be present in writing. If the defendant's attorney shows that the defendant's physical health would be endangered by being at the hearing, the court may order a continuance until the risk is terminated, and the defendant shall not be discharged during the continuance unless the hospital determines that the defendant no longer meets the commitment standards applicable in the hearing that has been continued. If the court determines that the defendant's conduct at the hearing is so violent or otherwise disruptive that it creates a serious risk of harm to the defendant or others at the hearing or so disrupts the proceedings that they cannot be conducted in a proper manner, the court may order the defendant restrained or excluded to the extent necessary to the proper conduct of the proceedings. If the defendant is not present at or is excluded from the hearing, the court shall make a written finding of fact as to why the hearing is held in defendant's absence.

Legislative History

Acts 1983, ch. 323, § 9; T.C.A., § 33-371; Acts 1984, ch. 922, §§ 16, 21; 1996, ch. 1079, § 54; 2000, ch. 947, § 1.