Sec. 17a-580. (Formerly Sec. 17-257a). Definitions.
Sec. 17a-580. (Formerly Sec. 17-257a). Definitions. As used in sections 17a-581
to 17a-602, inclusive, and this section:
(1) "Acquittee" means any person found not guilty by reason of mental disease or
defect pursuant to section 53a-13;
(2) "Board" means the Psychiatric Security Review Board established pursuant to
section 17a-581;
(3) "Conditional release" means release subject to the jurisdiction of the board for
supervision and treatment on an outpatient basis and includes, but is not limited to, the
monitoring of mental and physical health treatment;
(4) "Court" means the Superior Court;
(5) "Danger to himself or others" includes danger to the property of others;
(6) "Hospital for mental illness" means any public or private hospital, retreat, institution, house or place in which a person with psychiatric disabilities or drug-dependent
person is received or detained as a patient, but does not include any correctional institution of the state;
(7) "Mental illness" includes any mental illness in a state of remission when the
illness may, with reasonable medical probability, become active;
(8) "Mental retardation" means mental retardation as defined in section 1-1g;
(9) "Person who should be conditionally released" means an acquittee who has
psychiatric disabilities or is mentally retarded to the extent that his final discharge would
constitute a danger to himself or others but who can be adequately controlled with
available supervision and treatment on conditional release;
(10) "Person who should be confined" means an acquittee who has psychiatric disabilities or is mentally retarded to the extent that his discharge or conditional release
would constitute a danger to himself or others and who cannot be adequately controlled
with available supervision and treatment on conditional release;
(11) "Person who should be discharged" means an acquittee who does not have
psychiatric disabilities or is not mentally retarded to the extent that his discharge would
constitute a danger to himself or others;
(12) "Psychiatrist" means a physician specializing in psychiatry and licensed under
the provisions of sections 20-9 to 20-12, inclusive;
(13) "Psychologist" means a clinical psychologist licensed under the provisions of
sections 20-186 to 20-195, inclusive;
(14) "State's attorney" means the state's attorney for the judicial district wherein
the acquittee was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to
section 53a-13;
(15) "Superintendent" means any person, body of persons or corporation, or the
designee of any such person, body of persons or corporation, which has the immediate
supervision, management and control of a hospital for mental illness and the patients
therein.
(P.A. 85-506, S. 1, 32; P.A. 87-486, S. 1; P.A. 95-257, S. 48, 58.)
History: P.A. 87-486 added definition of "mental retardation" and included an acquittee who is mentally retarded within
definitions of "person who should be conditionally released", "person who should be confined" and "person who should
be discharged"; Sec. 17-257a transferred to Sec. 17a-580 in 1991; P.A. 95-257 replaced variants of "mentally ill" with
variants of "psychiatric disabilities", effective July 1, 1995.
Annotations to former section 17-257a:
Cited. 20 CA 96.
Subdiv. (5):
Cited. 211 C. 591.
Subdiv. (10):
Cited. 211 C. 591.
Annotations to present section:
Subdiv. (1):
Cited. 230 C. 400.
Cited. 41 CA 221. Cited. 43 CA 592.
Subdiv. (11):
Meaning of "psychiatric disabilities" within definition is not governed by standard in either Sec. 17a-495(c) or 17a-458(a) and in this case trial court applied the correct standard, found in governing regulations, in its interpretation of the
term; determination of whether person is a danger to himself or others is a question of fact and is to be reviewed under the
clearly erroneous standard. 265 C. 697.
Subdiv. (12):
Cited. 219 C. 314.