TITLE I: INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENTS
1. As used in this act:
A.
Defendant means the individual person against whom involuntary commitment proceedings are initiated or sought.
B.
Sanitorium means any facility that houses resident patients in its custody who have been involuntarily committed, voluntarily committed, or committed pursuant to an emergency protective order.
2. Whenever it is determined by clear and convincing evidence that a person in the Southern Region presents a serious risk to the health or safety of himself or herself or to another, and that such risk is caused by a mental or behavioral disorder or a lack of ordinary mental capacity, such person may be involuntarily committed pursuant to this act.
3. When evaluating if a defendant is a risk to himself or herself the following may be considered:
A. Whether or not the defendant attempted suicide;
B. Whether or not the defendant engaged in physical self-harm;
C. Whether or not the defendant is suffering from physical addiction to a drug or narcotic;
D. Whether or not the defendant is suffering from hallucinations or delusions, including but not limited to delusions that the defendant is in a category of being identified in Title V of the Transhumanism Is Dystopian Act, delusions of possessing neopronouns, or delusions identified by the S.P.L.I.T. Act.
E. Whether or not the defendant has the mental, emotional, and behavioral capacity to take care of his or her daily needs such as nutrition, health, hygiene, housing, or subsistence; and
F. If a lack of capacity is found, whether or not the defendant has an independent support structure to take care of his or her daily needs such as nutrition, health, hygiene, housing, or subsistence.
4. When evaluating if a defendant is a risk to himself or herself the following may be considered:
A. Whether or not the defendant committed or attempted to commit a violent crime as defined by law;
B. Whether or not the defendant threatened or intentionally caused harm to another person;
C. Whether or not the defendant committed or attempted to commit a crime for which the ordered attendance of an appropriate treatment program or psychiatric or psychological counseling is a required punishment; and
D. Whether or not the defendant was ordered to attend an appropriate treatment program or psychiatric or psychological counseling and such program or counseling was determined to be ineffective.
5. No defendant may be involuntarily committed merely for his or her constitutionally protected religious beliefs and exercise, his or her opinions or votes on any political matter, his or her opinions on the War of Northern Agression and its causes and consequences, or his or her diagnosis with attention deficit disorder.
6. Pending an involuntary commitment proceeding under this act, a judge may issue an emergency protective order permitting the temporary detention of the person for no more than seven (7) days, if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is an imminent threat to the health or safety of himself or herself or another, and that such emergency protective order is required to prevent such threat due to a mental or behavioral disorder or a lack of ordinary mental capacity possessed by the defendant.
7. This act shall take effect five (5) days from the date of passage.
TITLE II: DUE PROCESS
1. No defendant shall be sentenced by a court to involuntary commitment without adequate due process of law.
2. In any judicial proceeding where involuntary commitment is sought, the defendant shall be entitled to no less than five (5) days advance, written notice of any scheduled hearings in the matter. No court may exclude a defendant from any scheduled hearing, nor enter an order sentencing a defendant to involuntary commitment in
absentia.
3. Prior to any judicial hearing in which involuntary commitment may be ordered, the judge shall make a preliminary determination of immediate capacity. If upon the preponderance of preliminary evidence the judge determines that there is a likely risk of the defendant failing to understand the nature of the proceedings, the court shall appoint a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) to protect the interests of the defendant throughout the legal proceedings.
4. In any judicial proceeding where involuntary commitment is sought, the defendant shall be entitled to the assistance of legal counsel. If the defendant cannot afford his or her own legal counsel the court shall appoint such counsel to represent the defendant. Legal counsel appointed for a defendant may be a GAL previously appointed to the same defendant.
5. In any judicial proceeding where involuntary commitment is sought, the defendant shall be entitled to receive any evidence to be used against him or her no less than five (5) days advance of any hearing in which such evidence will be used, and shall be entitled to offer evidence, including but not limited to expert testimony and medical evaluations, of his or her capacity and his or her lack of need for involuntary commitment.
6. In any judicial proceeding where a sentence of involuntary commitment is ordered by the court, the commitment order shall include a date certain of the length of the commitment, such date not to exceed ten (10) years in length. If, upon the expiration of the commitment period it is believed that the defendant should remain committed, a new judicial proceeding shall be initiated.
7. In any judicial proceeding where a sentence of involuntary commitment is ordered by the court, the commitment order shall enumerate those constititional rights to which the defendant is to be deprived for the duration of the commitment period along with an explanation of why such rights need to be deprived.
8. Upon a sentence of involuntary commitment ordered by the court, the defendant may appeal such order for cause within thirty (30) days of sentencing.
9. Any defendant sentenced to a term of involuntary commitment shall be entitled to prosecute a writ of habeas corpus at any time during the duration of the commitment period to offer new evidence of his or her capacity and his or her lack of need for involuntary commitment, provided that no such writ shall be prosecuted more frequently than once every 180 days.
10. Any defendant sentenced to a term of involuntary commitment shall be reevaluated at least once per year during the term of commitment to determine if the defendant continues to need involuntary commitment.
11. Upon the release of a defendant from a term of involuntary commitment, those constititional rights to which the defendant was deprived during the duration of the commitment period shall be restored, absent a finding of need by the court by clear and convincing evidence that such rights pose a clear risk to the defendant or others. If a court does make such finding the court shall issue an explanation of why such rights need to be deprived.
TITLE III: SANITORIUMS
1. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall perform any lobotomy on any resident patient in its custody.
2. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall perform any electroshock therapy on any resident patient in its custody. The therapeutic use of electrical stimulation devices for corrective behavioral therapy, including but not limited to the graduated electronic decelerator and the self-injurious behavior inhibiting system is hereby prohibited in the South.
3. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall perform any sterilization procedure on any resident patient in its custody.
4. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall perform any experimental medical procedure on or prescribe any experimental medication to any resident patient in its custody, without the consent of a family member given guardianship over the patient or if none, a GAL appointed to represent the best interests of the patient.
5. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall forcibly feed or medicate any resident patient in its custody, without the consent of a family member given guardianship over the patient or if none, a GAL appointed to represent the best interests of the patient.
6. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall prohibit any resident patient in its custody from receiving visitors, phone calls, or mail during normal operating hours.
7. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall unreasonably use any physical restraints on any resident patient in its custody.
8. No sanitorium in the Southern Region shall vote or attempt to vote in any election on behalf any resident patient in its custody.
