§ 25-10-109 — Emergency detention

(a) A person may be detained when:
(i) A law enforcement officer or examiner has
reasonable cause to believe a person is mentally ill pursuant to
W.S. 25-10-101;
(ii) A court has entered an ex parte order for
immediate detention of a person pursuant to W.S. 25-10-110.1(h);
(iii) A hospital revokes convalescent status release
of a person pursuant to W.S. 25-10-127(b) based on a previous or
current determination of mental illness.
(b) Immediately after detaining the person, the officer
shall contact an examiner. A preliminary examination of the
person shall be conducted by an examiner within twenty-four (24)
hours after the detention. If a preliminary examination is not
conducted within twenty-four (24) hours the detained person
shall be released. If the person is detained following the
preliminary examination, an examiner shall reexamine the person
not less than every forty-eight (48) hours until the hearing
under subsections (h) through (k) of this section. If the
examiner giving the preliminary examination, or any
reexamination as required by this subsection, finds that the
person:
(i) Is not mentally ill, the person shall be released
immediately;
(ii) Was mentally ill, but is no longer dangerous to
himself or others, the examiner shall, with patient consent,
arrange follow up mental health care and the person shall be
released immediately; or
(iii) Is mentally ill, the person may be detained
for seventy-two (72) hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays and
legal holidays.
(c) No person shall be detained for more than seventy-two
(72) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays,
without a hearing under subsections (h) through (k) of this
section.
(d) A person taken into custody under this section may be
detained in a hospital or other care setting which is
appropriate under the circumstances and which complies with
subsection (n) of this section. The person shall not be detained
in a nonmedical facility used for detention of persons charged
with or convicted of penal offenses except in extreme emergency
or if there are no other reasonable alternatives. The law
enforcement officer or examiner who detained the person shall
immediately notify the person responsible for the care and
custody of the detained person, if known, of the time and place
of detention.
(e) The law enforcement officer or examiner who initially
detained the person shall make a written statement of the facts
of the emergency detention. A copy of the statement shall be
given to the detained person, his parent or guardian, to any
attorney representing the person, to the county attorney in the
county where the person is detained, to any gatekeeper
designated by the department and to any subsequent examiner.
(f) When a person is detained under emergency
circumstances, treatment may be given during the emergency
detention period if the person voluntarily and knowingly
consents. The parent or guardian of a minor or incompetent
person may consent to treatment. If the parent or guardian of a
minor patient does not consent to treatment, a petition may be
filed under the Child Protection Act. Treatment may be given
without the consent of the detained person or his parent or
guardian when treatment is limited to diagnosis or evaluation or
when treatment is necessary to prevent immediate and serious
physical harm to the person or others. Prior to treatment, the
person shall be fully advised of the scope of treatment, and a
report of the treatment shall be provided to the county
attorney, to any gatekeeper designated by the department and
shall be filed with the court if continued detention is sought,
or if directed outpatient commitment or involuntary
hospitalization proceedings are commenced. An examiner or a
physician who provides treatment in good faith pursuant to this
subsection shall be immune from civil liability for the
treatment except there shall be no immunity from liability for
negligent acts or deliberate misconduct.
(g) At the time of emergency detention the person shall be
informed orally and in writing of his right to contact his
family and an attorney, of his right to appointed counsel if he
is indigent, of his right to remain silent and that his
statements may be used as a basis for continued detention,
directed outpatient commitment or involuntary hospitalization.
(h) When a person is detained in emergency detention and
continued detention is sought, or an application for directed
outpatient commitment or involuntary hospitalization is filed by
the county attorney, the court shall appoint an attorney to
represent the detained person unless he has his own attorney.
The court shall conduct a hearing within seventy-two (72) hours,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, of the initial
detention to determine whether continued detention is required
pending directed outpatient commitment or involuntary
hospitalization proceedings. The county attorney of the county
where the application is filed shall appear on behalf of the
state at the hearing. Any gatekeeper designated by the
department pursuant to W.S. 25-10-112(g) shall appear at the
hearing and provide testimony concerning continued detention
and, if applicable, the issues outlined in subsection (m) of
this section. Notice of the preliminary hearing shall be given
to the county attorney, any gatekeeper designated by the
department, the detained person and his parent, guardian and
attorney. The court may delay the hearing only at the request of
the detained person or his parent, guardian or his attorney.
The hearing for continued detention may be waived at the request
of the detained person or the detained person's parent, guardian
or attorney. If a hearing for continued detention has been
waived, the court may immediately conduct the directed
outpatient commitment or involuntary hospitalization hearing.
(j) At the hearing the court shall advise the detained
person and his parent, guardian or attorney of the contents of
the written statement of emergency detention required in
subsection (e) of this section and the application for directed
outpatient commitment or involuntary hospitalization.
(k) The standard of proof in an emergency detention
hearing shall be by a preponderance of the evidence. If the
court finds at an emergency detention hearing that:
(i) The person is not mentally ill, the court shall
order the person released;
(ii) The person is mentally ill and has applied for
and received voluntary admission, the court may dismiss the
proceedings; or
(iii) The person is mentally ill, it shall order
continued detention of the person for not more than ten (10)
days. The court may extend the detention period at the request
of the proposed patient or his attorney.
(m) If the court finds the person is mentally ill pursuant
to paragraph (k)(iii) of this section, the court shall make
findings as to the person's competence to make informed choices
regarding treatment and the person's need for prescribed
psychotropic medication. If the court finds the person
incompetent to make an informed decision, the court may order
the administration of prescribed psychotropic medication for the
period of the emergency detention for restabilization of the
person's mental health.
(n) Treatment provided as a result of an emergency or
continued detention pursuant to this section shall be provided
in the least restrictive and most therapeutic setting available
with consideration given to requests of the detained person, his
parent, guardian or attorney, and recommendations of any
gatekeeper. Treatment may include the treatment options
outlined in W.S. 25-10-110.1(d).