Current through the 2024 Regular Session
Section 41-21-63 - Commitment proceedings; jurisdiction of chancery court and circuit court(1) No person, other than persons charged with crime, shall be committed to a public treatment facility except under the provisions of Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 or 43-21-611 or 43-21-315. However, nothing herein shall be construed to repeal, alter or otherwise affect the provisions of Section 35-5-31 or to affect or prevent the commitment of persons to the Veterans Administration or other agency of the United States under the provisions of and in the manner specified in those sections.(2)(a) The chancery court, or the chancellor in vacation, shall have jurisdiction under Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 except over persons with unresolved felony charges unless paragraph (b) of this subsection applies.(b) If a circuit court with jurisdiction over unresolved felony charges enters an order concluding that a person is incompetent to stand trial and is not restorable to competency in the foreseeable future, the circuit court shall retain jurisdiction and shall proceed with civil commitment procedures in the same manner as described in Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107. The order of the circuit court finding that the person is incompetent to stand trial and is not restorable to competency in the foreseeable future shall be in lieu of the affidavit for commitment provided for in Section 41-21-65. Additionally, if the finding of the circuit court is based on the report and/or testimony of a physician or psychologist that has examined the person, the provisions of Section 41-21-67 for psychiatric examinations shall not apply.(3) The circuit court shall also have jurisdiction under Sections 99-13-7, 99-13-9 and 99-13-11.(4) Before the release of a person referred for civil commitment under this section and committed under Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107, the Department of Mental Health must notify the district attorney of the county where the offense was committed. The district attorney must notify the crime victim or a family member who has requested notification under Section 99-43-35 and the sheriffs of both the county where the offense was committed and the county of the committed person's destination.Laws, 1975, ch. 492, § 2; Laws, 1976, ch. 401, § 3; Laws, 1984, ch. 477, § 2; Laws, 1985, ch. 454, § 6; Laws, 1994, ch. 533, § 1; Laws, 1994, ch. 599, § 2; Laws, 1996, ch. 430, § 2; Laws, 2010, ch. 398, § 2, eff. 7/1/2010.Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 479, HB 1088,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by Laws, 2019, ch. 468, SB 2328,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2019.