Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 319i - Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities
Section 17a-566. (Formerly Sec. 17-244). - Certain convicted persons to be examined. Report and recommendation.

(a) Except as provided in section 17a-574 any court prior to sentencing a person convicted of an offense for which the penalty may be imprisonment in the Connecticut Correctional Institution at Somers, or of a sex offense involving (1) physical force or violence, (2) disparity of age between an adult and a minor or (3) a sexual act of a compulsive or repetitive nature, may if it appears to the court that such person has psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself or others, upon its own motion or upon request of any of the persons enumerated in subsection (b) of this section and a subsequent finding that such request is justified, order the commissioner to conduct an examination of the convicted defendant by qualified personnel of the hospital. Upon completion of such examination the examiner shall report in writing to the court. Such report shall indicate whether the convicted defendant should be committed to the diagnostic unit of the hospital for additional examination or should be sentenced in accordance with the conviction. Such examination shall be conducted and the report made to the court not later than fifteen days after the order for the examination. Such examination may be conducted at a correctional facility if the defendant is confined or it may be conducted on an outpatient basis at the hospital or other appropriate location. If the report recommends additional examination at the diagnostic unit, the court may, after a hearing, order the convicted defendant committed to the diagnostic unit of the hospital for a period not to exceed sixty days, except as provided in section 17a-567 provided the hearing may be waived by the defendant. Such commitment shall not be effective until the director certifies to the court that space is available at the diagnostic unit. While confined in said diagnostic unit, the defendant shall be given a complete physical and psychiatric examination by the staff of the unit and may receive medication and treatment without his consent. The director shall have authority to procure all court records, institutional records and probation or other reports which provide information about the defendant.

(b) The request for such examination may be made by the state's attorney or assistant state's attorney who prosecuted the defendant for an offense specified in this section, or by the defendant or his attorney in his behalf. If the court orders such examination, a copy of the examination order shall be served upon the defendant to be examined.
(c) Upon completion of the physical and psychiatric examination of the defendant, but not later than sixty days after admission to the diagnostic unit, a written report of the results thereof shall be filed in quadruplicate with the clerk of the court before which he was convicted, and such clerk shall cause copies to be delivered to the state's attorney, to counsel for the defendant and to the Court Support Services Division.
(d) Such report shall include the following: (1) A description of the nature of the examination; (2) a diagnosis of the mental condition of the defendant; (3) an opinion as to whether the diagnosis and prognosis demonstrate clearly that the defendant is actually dangerous to himself or others and requires custody, care and treatment at the hospital; and (4) a recommendation as to whether the defendant should be sentenced in accordance with the conviction, sentenced in accordance with the conviction and confined in the hospital for custody, care and treatment, placed on probation by the court or placed on probation by the court with the requirement, as a condition to probation, that he receive outpatient psychiatric treatment.
(1957, P.A. 650, S. 7; 1959, P.A. 426, S. 2; P.A. 73-245, S. 7; P.A. 80-470, S. 3, 11; P.A. 81-472, S. 39, 159; P.A. 85-350, S. 1; P.A. 95-257, S. 20, 48, 58; P.A. 02-132, S. 2; P.A. 18-86, S. 38.)
History: 1959 act deleted prerequisite for finding in Subsec. (d)(3) as to whether defendant is mentally ill, mentally deficient or emotionally unbalanced and added requirement for opinion as to whether he is a danger to himself; P.A. 73-245 replaced “center”, i.e. security treatment center, with “institute”, i.e. Whiting Forensic Institute, and replaced “State Prison” with “Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers”; P.A. 80-470 clarified provisions re psychiatric examinations of convicted offenders and treatment in lieu of or in addition to imprisonment; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A. 85-350 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “triplicate” with “quadruplicate” and by requiring copies to be delivered to the office of adult probation; Sec. 17a-244 transferred to Sec. 17a-566 in 1991; P.A. 95-257 substituted “has psychiatric disabilities” for “is mentally ill” and “division” for “institute”, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 02-132 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “Office of Adult Probation” with “Court Support Services Division”; P.A. 18-86 amended Subsecs. (a) and (d) by replacing “division” and “institute” with “hospital”, effective June 4, 2018.
See Sec. 53-22 re court-ordered psychiatric examinations.
Annotations to former section 17-244:
Cited. 190 C. 327; 198 C. 397; 200 C. 224; 205 C. 27; 210 C. 304; Id., 519; 216 C. 699.
Cited. 10 CA 546; 12 CA 32; 20 CA 737; 21 CA 172; 22 CA 601; 24 CA 13.
Cited. 41 CS 229.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 224 C. 168; 227 C. 448; Id., 928; 230 C. 591; 236 C. 31; 237 C. 633.
Cited. 29 CA 386; 32 CA 448; 36 CA 641; 37 CA 500; judgment reversed, see 237 C. 633. Statutory psychiatric examination not required where adequate psychiatric documentation of defendant's mental condition has been presented during trial. 62 CA 256. Plain language of section yields the conclusion that its direct purpose is to guide the sentencing court in the determination of the appropriate place of confinement; section does not provide authority for the presentence psychiatric evaluation to make any recommendation as to length of sentence. 184 CA 456.
Subsec. (a):
Court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for presentence psychiatric examination where there was no expert testimony of any mental disease or defect, no evidence of any prior or subsequent psychiatric disabilities and no evidence in the record that defendant would be dangerous to himself or to others in prison. 63 CA 442. Defendant may waive 15-day period for examination report to be made to the court, and time period may be extended if defendant makes waiver knowingly and voluntarily. 101 CA 770.

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