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246-170-051  <<  246-170-055 >>   246-170-061

PDFWAC 246-170-055

Due process proceedings.

(1) A hearing on the petition for detention filed under WAC 246-170-051 shall be conducted in superior court within seventy-two hours after initial detention, excluding weekends and holidays. The local health officer shall have the burden of proving the allegations set forth in the petition by a preponderance of the evidence. The person named in the petition shall have the right to cross-examine witnesses, present evidence, and be represented by an attorney at any hearing held on the petition. If the person is indigent and requests appointment of legal counsel, legal counsel shall be appointed at public expense at least twenty-four hours prior to the superior court hearing.
(2) At the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall consider the evidence, the action taken by the health officer to secure voluntary compliance by the patient, and the purpose and intent of the public health laws, including this chapter, and may take one of the following actions:
(a) If the court finds that the respondent is a suspected case, the court may enter an order requiring that the person be subjected to further examination, testing, and treatment as specified in the court's order. If the court finds that further detention of the respondent is necessary in order to assure that the examination, testing, and treatment occurs, or to protect the public health the court may order that the respondent be detained for an additional period not to exceed forty-five days. The results of testing conducted under this chapter shall be provided to the court and the person detained or his or her legal counsel as soon as they are available to the local health officer. The court may then conduct an additional hearing to determine whether the person is a confirmed case and, if so, whether further measures are necessary to protect the public health pursuant to (b) or (c) of this subsection.
(b) If the court finds that the person is a confirmed case, that further measures less restrictive than detention of the respondent are necessary to assure that appropriate treatment is implemented and that imposition of less restrictive measures will be sufficient to protect the public health, the court may enter an order setting forth such measures and ordering the respondent to comply with the measures.
(c) If the court finds that the person is a confirmed case, that further detention of the respondent is necessary to protect the public health, and that imposition of less restrictive measures will not be sufficient to protect the public health, the court may order that the respondent be detained and treated for an additional period not to exceed forty-five days.
(d) If the court finds that there is insufficient evidence to support the petition for detention, then the court shall immediately release the person detained.
(3) A person detained under this chapter may be released prior to the expiration of the court-ordered detention if the health officer or the court finds that less restrictive measures are sufficient to protect the public health. The court may impose such conditions on the release of the person as the court finds are necessary to protect the public health. A person detained under this chapter may also petition the court for release based upon new evidence or a change in circumstances.
(4) The court may extend a period of court-ordered detention for additional periods not to exceed one hundred eighty days each following a hearing as described in WAC 246-170-051 and this section, if the court finds that the requirements of subsection (2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section have been met and if the court finds that further detention is necessary to assure that appropriate treatment is implemented, and that imposition of less restrictive measures are not sufficient to protect the public health. As an alternative to extending the period of detention, if the court finds after hearing that further measures less restrictive than detention are necessary to assure that appropriate treatment is continued, and that imposition of less restrictive measures will be sufficient to protect the public health, the court may enter an order setting forth the measures and ordering the respondent to comply.
(5) In the event that a person has been released from detention prior to completion of the prescribed course of treatment and fails to comply with the prescribed course of treatment, the health officer where that individual is found may detain that person, and any court having jurisdiction of the person may order the person detained for an additional period or periods, not to exceed one hundred eighty days each, as the court finds necessary to protect the public health.
(6) If a person has been detained in a county other than the county in which the court that originally ordered the detention is located, venue of the proceedings may remain in the original county, or may be transferred to the county of detention. Change in venue may be sought either by the local health officer in the original county or in the county of detention, or by the person detained. Except as otherwise agreed between the original health officer and the health officer in the county of detention, the original health officer retains jurisdiction over the detained person, including financial responsibility for costs incurred in implementing and continuing the detention.
(7) Court orders entered under this chapter shall be entered only after a hearing at which the respondent is accorded the same rights as at the initial hearing on the petition for detention.
(8)(a) When a court order for detention is issued, the transporting law enforcement agency and the receiving facility shall be informed of the infectious TB status of the person for disease control and the protection of the health of the staff, other offenders and the public. Such information shall be made available prior to the transport.
(b) Whenever disclosure is made pursuant to this subsection, it shall be accompanied by a statement in writing which includes the following or substantially similar language: "This information has been disclosed to you from records whose confidentiality is protected by state law. State law prohibits you from making any further disclosure of it except as authorized by state law."
(c) Transporting agencies and/or receiving facilities shall establish and implement policies and procedures that maintain confidentiality related to the detained person's medical information as defined in this subsection and state law.
[Statutory Authority: ESB 6158 and chapter 70.28 RCW. WSR 95-04-035, ยง 246-170-055, filed 1/24/95, effective 1/24/95.]
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