37.2-818 - Commitment hearing for involuntary admission; recordings and records.
§ 37.2-818. Commitment hearing for involuntary admission; recordings andrecords.
A. The district court judge or special justice shall make or cause to be madea tape or other audio recording of any hearings held under this chapter, withno more than one hearing recorded per tape, and shall submit the recording tothe clerk of the district court in the locality in which the hearing is heldto be retained in a confidential file. The person who was the subject of thehearing shall be entitled, upon request, to obtain a copy of the tape orother audio recording of such hearing. These recordings shall be retained forat least three years from the date of the commitment hearing.
B. Except as provided in this section and § 37.2-819, the court shall keepits copies of recordings made pursuant to this section, relevant medicalrecords, reports, and court documents pertaining to the hearings provided forin this chapter confidential. The person who is the subject of the hearingmay, in writing, waive the confidentiality provided herein. In the absence ofsuch waiver, access to the dispositional order only may be provided uponcourt order. Any person seeking access to the dispositional order may file awritten motion setting forth why such access is needed. The court may issuean order to disclose the dispositional order if it finds that such disclosureis in the best interest of the person who is the subject of the hearing or ofthe public. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court and anyone acting onhis behalf shall be provided access to the court's records upon request. Suchrecordings, records, reports, and documents shall not be subject to theVirginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
C. After entering an order for involuntary admission or mandatory outpatienttreatment, the judge or special justice shall order that copies of therelevant records of the person be released to (i) the facility in which he isplaced, (ii) the community services board of the jurisdiction where theperson resides, (iii) any treatment providers identified in a treatment planincorporated into any mandatory outpatient treatment order, and (iv) anyother treatment providers or entities.
(1976, c. 671, § 37.1-67.3; 1979, c. 426; 1980, cc. 166, 582; 1982, c. 471;1984, c. 277; 1985, c. 261; 1986, cc. 349, 609; 1988, c. 225; 1989, c. 716;1990, cc. 59, 60, 728, 798; 1991, c. 636; 1992, c. 752; 1994, cc. 736, 907;1995, cc. 489, 668, 844; 1996, cc. 343, 893; 1997, cc. 558, 921; 1998, c.446; 2001, cc. 478, 479, 507, 658, 837; 2004, cc. 66, 1014; 2005, c. 716;2008, cc. 806, 850, 870.)