§31.27.  Judicial commitment; review

A.  A written report on each person committed pursuant to the provisions of this Part shall be submitted every ninety days by the treatment facility to the committing court.  The report shall include but need not be limited to the committed person's response to treatment, his current condition, and the reasons, if any, why continued involuntary treatment is necessary to improve his condition or to prevent it from deteriorating.  The report shall be treated by the court as confidential and shall not be available for public examination, nor shall it be subject to discovery in any proceedings other than those initiated pursuant to this Part.

B.  Persons committed judicially shall have their cases reviewed in a hearing annually.  The annual hearing shall be conducted according to the procedures and standards set forth by the district court for the judicial district in which the person is being confined and may be conducted through telecommunications, community antenna television, or other such technology.  The court may at any time, however, upon application or upon its own motion, order a new hearing to be held in order to determine whether the involuntary status should be continued.

C.  A person who is judicially committed shall be allowed to appeal devolutively from the order to the court of appeal.  If the lower court finds the individual indigent, it shall allow the appeal to be taken in forma pauperis.

D.  Upon affirmation of the order of commitment, the person may apply for appropriate writs from the supreme court.

E.  Nothing in this Part shall deny the right of habeas corpus, including an application based upon a change of circumstances.  The hearing for habeas corpus may be conducted through telecommunications, community antenna television, or other such technology.

Acts 1995, No. 373, §1, eff. June 16, 1995.