Browse Arkansas Code titles and sections
20-47-213. Evaluation — When performed and by whom — Transportation to place of evaluation.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-213. Evaluation — When performed and by whom — Transportation to place of evaluation.
(a) If the person is transported to a hospital or receiving facility or program or to the office of a licensed physician of the State of Arkansas or of the United States Government, either salaried or self-employed, for purposes of initial evaluation and treatment, then the hospital or receiving facility or program or physician may detain the person for initial evaluation and treatment, provided:
(1) The person is immediately advised of his or her rights as provided in § 20-47-211;
(2) The person is determined by the treatment staff of the hospital or receiving facility or program or by the physician to be of danger to himself or herself or others as defined in § 20-47-207; and
(3) A hearing pursuant to § 20-47-209(a)(1) is held within the specified time period.
(b)(1) If a physician is not immediately available for the initial evaluation, the initial evaluation may be performed by an administrator's designee, working under medical supervision and direction. In such cases, a supervising physician shall be consulted by telephone before any decision is made concerning the initial evaluation and treatment.
(2) Every person admitted to a hospital or a receiving facility or program under this provision shall be seen and evaluated personally by a physician within twenty-four (24) hours of detention.
(c) In all cases, the evaluations required by the court for involuntary admission pursuant to § 20-47-214 shall be performed only by a physician licensed to practice in the State of Arkansas.
(d) If it is determined at the initial hearing that the person should be evaluated to determine the need for mental health services on an involuntary basis, a law enforcement officer or
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-213
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
Issuing source page ↗
Authority boundary: historical statutory source snapshot not current law.
Open the recorded source website ↗
Record provenance
Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:20-47-213
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.20.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: f0244ec59e9cbccca3d7e4b8f16752120870c6d8b24274746b7e5275b3382572
Source location: content.xml paragraph 26951
Stored source content
20-47-213. Evaluation — When performed and by whom — Transportation to place of evaluation.
(a) If the person is transported to a hospital or receiving facility or program or to the office of a licensed physician of the State of Arkansas or of the United States Government, either salaried or self-employed, for purposes of initial evaluation and treatment, then the hospital or receiving facility or program or physician may detain the person for initial evaluation and treatment, provided:
(1) The person is immediately advised of his or her rights as provided in § 20-47-211;
(2) The person is determined by the treatment staff of the hospital or receiving facility or program or by the physician to be of danger to himself or herself or others as defined in § 20-47-207; and
(3) A hearing pursuant to § 20-47-209(a)(1) is held within the specified time period.
(b)(1) If a physician is not immediately available for the initial evaluation, the initial evaluation may be performed by an administrator's designee, working under medical supervision and direction. In such cases, a supervising physician shall be consulted by telephone before any decision is made concerning the initial evaluation and treatment.
(2) Every person admitted to a hospital or a receiving facility or program under this provision shall be seen and evaluated personally by a physician within twenty-four (24) hours of detention.
(c) In all cases, the evaluations required by the court for involuntary admission pursuant to § 20-47-214 shall be performed only by a physician licensed to practice in the State of Arkansas.
(d) If it is determined at the initial hearing that the person should be evaluated to determine the need for mental health services on an involuntary basis, a law enforcement officer or family of the person, as the court shall direct, shall transport the person to the place of evaluation.
(e) Nothing in this subchapter shall prevent the person so detained from being released sooner than the period specified in § 20-47-205 if, in the judgment of the treatment staff of the hospital or of the receiving facility or of the treating physician, the person does not require further mental health treatment. The court shall be immediately advised in writing of the release and shall dismiss the action.
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-207. Involuntary admission — Original petition.
(a) Written Petition — Venue. Any person having reason to believe that a person meets the criteria for involuntary admission as defined in subsection (c) of this section may file a verified petition with the circuit clerk of the county in which the person alleged to have mental illness resides or is detained.
(b) Contents of Petition. The petition for involuntary admission shall:
(1) State whether the person is believed to be of danger to himself or herself or others as defined in subsection (c) of this section;
(2) Describe the conduct, clinical signs, and symptoms upon which the petition is based. The description shall be limited to facts within the petitioner's personal knowledge;
(3) Contain the names and addresses of any witnesses having knowledge relevant to the allegations contained in the petition; and
(4) Contain a specific prayer for involuntary admission of the person to a hospital or to a receiving facility or program for treatment pursuant to § 20-47-218(c).
(c)Involuntary Admission Criteria.
(1) A person shall be eligible for involuntary admission if he or she is in such a mental condition as a result of mental illness, disease, or disorder that he or she poses a clear and present danger to himself or herself or others.
(2) As used in this subsection, “a clear and present danger to himself or herself” is established by demonstrating that:
(A) The person has inflicted serious bodily injury on himself or herself or has attempted suicide or serious self-injury, and there is a reasonable probability that the conduct will be repeated if admission is not ordered;
(B) The person has threatened to inflict serious bodily injury on himself or herself, and there is a reasonable probability
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-207
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-207. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-209. Initial hearing — Failure to appear — Exceptions from appearance requirement.
(a) If the person named in the original petition is not confined at the time that the petition is filed, the court may:
(1) Enter an ex parte order directing a law enforcement officer to serve the person with a copy of the petition together with a notice to appear for an initial hearing. The hearing shall be set by the court within three (3) days, excluding weekends and holidays, of the filing of the original petition. If the person is duly served and fails to appear, the court shall issue an order of detention; or
(2) Dismiss the petition.
(b) The person named in the original petition is not required to appear and may be removed from the presence of the court upon a finding by the court that the person is:
(1) By reason of physical infirmity unable to appear;
(2) That the person's appearance would be detrimental to his or her mental health, well-being, or treatment; or
(3) That his or her conduct before the court is so disruptive that the proceedings cannot reasonably continue with him or her present.
(c)(1) The petitioner shall appear before the circuit judge hearing the petition to substantiate the petition.
(2) The court shall make a determination based on clear and convincing evidence that there is probable cause to believe that the person has a mental illness, disease, or disorder and that one (1) of the criteria for involuntary admission applies to the person.
(3) If such a determination is made, the person shall be admitted for evaluation, and a hearing pursuant to § 20-47-214 shall be held within the period specified in § 20-47-205.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-209
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-209. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-211. Notification of rights.
Along with the copy of the petition and the copy of the order directing appearance for an initial evaluation or an order of detention, the person sought to be involuntarily admitted shall be served with a copy of the following statement of rights:
(1) That he or she has the right to effective assistance of counsel, including the right to a court-appointed attorney;
(2) That he or she and his or her attorney have a right to be present at all significant stages of the proceedings and at all hearings except that no attorney shall be entitled to be present upon examination of the person by the physician or any member of the treatment staff pursuant to an evaluation, whether initially or subsequently;
(3) That he or she has the right to present evidence in his or her own behalf;
(4) That he or she has the right to cross-examine witnesses who testify against him or her;
(5) That he or she has a right to remain silent; and
(6) That he or she has a right to view and copy all petitions, reports, and documents contained in the court file.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-211
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-211. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-214. Forty-five-day involuntary admission — Hearing.
(a)(1) Within the period specified in § 20-47-205, a hearing shall be held.
(2) The hearing must be conducted in public, open to the news media.
(3) All testimony must be taken under oath and preserved.
(4) All witnesses shall be subject to a penalty for perjury, and each witness who shall testify shall be instructed by the hearing officer as to the penalty for perjury before testifying.
(b)(1) Should any person be found guilty of giving false testimony that results in a person's wrongful involuntary admission, he or she shall be liable for civil damages and subject to incarceration for not less than thirty (30) days.
(2) The court shall make a determination at that time whether clear and convincing evidence has been presented that the person sought to be involuntarily admitted is of danger to himself or herself or to others as defined in § 20-47-207.
(3) If this burden of proof has been met, the court shall issue an order authorizing the hospital or receiving facility or program to detain the person for treatment for a maximum of forty-five (45) days.
(c) This section shall be construed to allow the person sought to be involuntarily admitted to request treatment under an alternative least restrictive appropriate setting.
(d) If a hearing pursuant to this section is not held within the period specified in § 20-47-205, the person shall be released.
(e) Upon filing of an order of commitment issued under subdivision (b)(3) of this section with a circuit clerk, the circuit clerk shall submit a copy of the order of commitment to the Arkansas Crime Information Center.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-214
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-214. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.