Arkansas Code
Subchapter 2 - Commitment and Treatment
§ 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.

Structure Arkansas Code