Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 319i - Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities
Section 17a-580. (Formerly Sec. 17-257a). - Definitions.

As used in sections 17a-581 to 17a-603, inclusive, and this section:

(1) “Acquittee” means any person found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13;
(2) “Board” means the Psychiatric Security Review Board established pursuant to section 17a-581;
(3) “Conditional release” means release of the acquittee from a hospital for psychiatric disabilities to the jurisdiction of the board for supervision and treatment and includes, but is not limited to, the monitoring of mental and physical health treatment;
(4) “Court” means the Superior Court;
(5) “Danger to himself or others” includes danger to the property of others;
(6) “Hospital for psychiatric disabilities” means any public or private hospital, retreat, institution, house or place in which a person with psychiatric disabilities or drug-dependent person is received or detained as a patient, but does not include any correctional institution of the state;
(7) “Psychiatric disability” includes any mental illness in a state of remission when the illness may, with reasonable medical probability, become active. “Psychiatric disability” does not include an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct;
(8) “Intellectual disability” has the same meaning as provided in section 1-1g;
(9) “Person who should be conditionally released” means an acquittee who has psychiatric disabilities or has intellectual disability to the extent that his final discharge would constitute a danger to himself or others but who can be adequately controlled with available supervision and treatment on conditional release;
(10) “Person who should be confined” means an acquittee who has psychiatric disabilities or has intellectual disability to the extent that such acquittee's discharge or conditional release would constitute a danger to the acquittee or others and who cannot be adequately controlled with available supervision and treatment on conditional release;
(11) “Person who should be discharged” means an acquittee who does not have psychiatric disabilities or does not have intellectual disability to the extent that such acquittee's discharge would constitute a danger to the acquittee or others;
(12) “Psychiatrist” means a physician specializing in psychiatry and licensed under the provisions of sections 20-9 to 20-12, inclusive;
(13) “Psychologist” means a clinical psychologist licensed under the provisions of sections 20-186 to 20-195, inclusive;
(14) “State's attorney” means the state's attorney for the judicial district wherein the acquittee was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13; and
(15) “Superintendent” means any person, body of persons or corporation, or the designee of any such person, body of persons or corporation, which has the immediate supervision, management and control of a hospital for psychiatric disabilities and the patients therein.
(P.A. 85-506, S. 1, 32; P.A. 87-486, S. 1; P.A. 95-257, S. 48, 58; P.A. 11-129, S. 6; P.A. 15-211, S. 14.)
History: P.A. 87-486 added definition of “mental retardation” and included an acquittee who is mentally retarded within definitions of “person who should be conditionally released”, “person who should be confined” and “person who should be discharged”; Sec. 17-257a transferred to Sec. 17a-580 in 1991; P.A. 95-257 replaced variants of “mentally ill” with variants of “psychiatric disabilities”, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 11-129 amended Subdivs. (8) to (11) to replace “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” with “intellectual disability” and make conforming changes; P.A. 15-211 substituted “17a-603” for “17a-602” in introductory language, redefined “conditional release” in Subdiv. (3), substituted “hospital for psychiatric disabilities” for “hospital for mental illness” in Subdiv. (6), substituted “psychiatric disability” for “mental illness” and defined the term in Subdiv. (7), substituted “psychiatric disabilities” for “mental illness” in Subdiv. (15), and made a technical change, effective June 30, 2015.
Annotations to former section 17-257a:
Cited. 211 C. 591.
Cited. 20 CA 96.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 219 C. 314; 230 C. 400.
Cited. 41 CA 221; 43 CA 592.
Subdiv. (7):
Whether definition of mental illness is met turns on satisfaction of substantive definitional requirements and not the use of exact statutory terminology by expert witness or court. 148 CA 137.
Subdiv. (11):
Meaning of “psychiatric disabilities” within definition is not governed by standard in either Sec. 17a-495(c) or 17a-458(a) and trial court applied the correct standard, found in governing regulations, in its interpretation of the term; determination of whether person is a danger to himself or others is a question of fact and is to be reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. 265 C. 697.

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