2012 Wyoming Statutes
TITLE 25 - INSTITUTIONS OF THE STATE
CHAPTER 10 - HOSPITALIZATION OF MENTALLY ILL PERSONS
25-10-109. Emergency detention.

(a) When a law enforcement officer or examiner has reasonable cause to believe a person is mentally ill pursuant to W.S. 25-10-101, the person may be detained.

(b) Immediately after detaining the person, the officer shall contact an examiner. A preliminary examination of the person shall be conducted by an examiner within twenty-four (24) hours after the detention. If a preliminary examination is not conducted within twenty-four (24) hours the detained person shall be released. If the examiner giving the preliminary examination finds that the person:

(i) Is not mentally ill, the person shall be released immediately;

(ii) Was mentally ill, but is no longer dangerous to himself or others, the person shall be released immediately; or

(iii) Is mentally ill, the person may be detained for seventy-two (72) hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.

(c) No person shall be detained for more than seventy-two (72) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, without a hearing under subsections (h) through (k) of this section.

(d) A person taken into custody under this section may be detained in a hospital or other suitable facility which is appropriate under the circumstances. The person shall not be detained in a nonmedical facility used for detention of persons charged with or convicted of penal offenses except in extreme emergency or if there are no other reasonable alternatives. The law enforcement officer who detained the person shall immediately notify the person responsible for the care and custody of the detained person, if known, of the time and place of detention.

(e) The law enforcement officer or examiner who initially detained the person shall make a written statement of the facts of the emergency detention. A copy of the statement shall be given to the detained person and to any subsequent examiner.

(f) When a person is detained under emergency circumstances, treatment may be given during the emergency detention period if the person voluntarily and knowingly consents. The parent or guardian of a minor or incompetent person may consent to treatment. Treatment may be given without the consent of the detained person or his parent or guardian when treatment is limited to diagnosis or evaluation or when treatment is necessary to prevent immediate and serious physical harm to the person or others. Prior to treatment, the person shall be fully advised of the scope of treatment, and a report of the treatment shall be filed with the court if involuntary hospitalization proceedings are commenced. An examiner or a physician who provides treatment in good faith pursuant to this subsection shall be immune from civil liability for the treatment except there shall be no immunity from liability for negligent acts or deliberate misconduct.

(g) At the time of emergency detention the person shall be informed orally and in writing of his right to contact his family and an attorney, of his right to appointed counsel if he is indigent, of his right to remain silent and that his statements may be used as a basis for involuntary hospitalization.

(h) When a person is detained in emergency detention and an application for involuntary hospitalization is filed, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the detained person unless he has his own attorney, and the court shall conduct a hearing within seventy-two (72) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, of the initial detention to determine whether continued detention is required pending involuntary hospitalization proceedings. Notice of the preliminary hearing shall be given to the detained person and his attorney. The court may delay the hearing only at the request of the detained person or his parent, guardian or his attorney. An emergency detention hearing may be waived at the request of the detained person or the detained person's attorney, except in cases where a licensed physician's assistant was the only examiner for the emergency detention. If an emergency detention hearing has been waived, the court may immediately conduct the involuntary hospitalization hearing, provided that a licensed physician's assistant shall not be the examiner for an involuntary hospitalization hearing.

(j) At the hearing the court shall advise the detained person and his parent, guardian or attorney of the contents of the written statement of emergency detention required in subsection (e) of this section and the application for involuntary hospitalization.

(k) The standard of proof in an emergency detention hearing shall be by a preponderance of the evidence. If the court finds at an emergency detention hearing that:

(i) The person is not mentally ill, the court shall order the person released;

(ii) The person is mentally ill and has applied for voluntary admission, the court may dismiss the proceedings; or

(iii) The person is mentally ill, it shall order continued detention of the person for not more than ten (10) days. The court may extend the detention period at the request of the proposed patient or his attorney.

(m) If the court finds the person is mentally ill pursuant to paragraph (k)(iii) of this section, the court shall make findings as to the person's competence to make informed choices regarding treatment and the person's need for prescribed psychotropic medication. If the court finds the person incompetent to make an informed decision, the court may order the administration of prescribed psychotropic medication for the period of the emergency detention for restabilization of the person's mental health.