2006 Code of Virginia § 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 the commitment hearing and shall submitthe recording to the appropriate district court clerk to be retained in aconfidential file. Recordings shall be used only to document and to answerquestions concerning the judge's or special justice's conduct of the hearing.These recordings shall be retained for at least three years from the date ofthe commitment hearing.

B. Except as provided in this section and 37.2-819, the court shall keepits copies of relevant medical records, reports, and court documentspertaining to the hearing provided for in this section confidential if sorequested by the person who was the subject of the hearing or his counsel,with access provided only upon court order for good cause shown. Suchrecords, reports, and documents shall not be subject to the Virginia Freedomof Information Act ( 2.2-3700 et seq.).

C. The judge or special justice shall order that copies of the relevantmedical records of the person be released to the facility in which he isplaced upon the request of the treating physician or director of the facility.

(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.)