The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 18 : Health

Chapter 206 : Care for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

Subchapter 003 : Judicial Proceeding; Persons with an Intellectual Disability Who Present a Danger of Harm to Others

• § 8845. Judicial review

  (a) A person committed under this subchapter may be discharged from custody by a Superior judge after judicial review as provided herein or by administrative order of the Commissioner.

  (b) Procedures for judicial review of persons committed under this subchapter shall be as provided in section 8834 of this title, except that proceedings shall be brought in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court in the unit in which the person resides or, if the person resides out of state, in the unit that issued the original commitment order.

  (c) A person committed under this subchapter shall be entitled to a judicial review annually. If no such review is requested by the person, it shall be initiated by the Commissioner. However, such person may initiate a judicial review under this subsection after 90 days after initial commitment but before the end of the first year of the commitment.

  (d) If at the completion of the hearing and consideration of the record, the court finds at the time of the hearing that the person is still in need of custody, care, and habilitation, commitment shall continue for an indefinite or limited period. If the court finds at the time of the hearing that the person is no longer in need of custody, care, and habilitation, it shall discharge the person from the custody of the Commissioner. An order of discharge may be conditional or absolute and may have immediate or delayed effect. (Added 1987, No. 248 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 152; 2023, No. 6, § 217, eff. July 1, 2023.)