§ 37-7-140. Retention of Rights and Privileges by Patients Generally; Right to Due Process

Patients shall retain all rights and privileges granted other persons or citizens. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no person who is receiving or has received services for alcoholism or drug abuse shall be deprived of any civil, political, personal, or property rights or be considered legally incompetent for any purpose without […]

§ 37-7-141. Patients’ Right to Legal Counsel

It shall be the responsibility of the department to see that every patient is given the opportunity to secure legal counsel at his own expense to represent him in connection with private, personal, domestic, business, civil, criminal, and all other legal matters in which he may be involved during hospitalization. History. Code 1933, § 88-402.15, […]

§ 37-7-142. Right of Patients to Communicate With Persons Outside Facility and to Receive Visitors; Inspection, Restriction, and Censorship of Patient Correspondence; Establishment by Chief Medical Officer of Regulations Governing Visits and Use of Telephones

Each patient in a facility shall have the right to communicate freely and privately with persons outside the facility and to receive visitors inside the facility. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, each patient shall be allowed to receive and send sealed, unopened mail; and no patient’s incoming or outgoing mail shall be […]

§ 37-7-143. Patients’ Rights in Regard to Personal Effects; Liability of Facility’s Employees and Staff Members for Loss of or Damage to Patients’ Personal Effects

A patient’s rights to his personal effects shall be respected. The chief medical officer may take temporary custody of such effects when required for medical reasons. The facility shall make reasonable efforts to assure the safety of the patient’s belongings, but no employee or staff member shall be responsible for loss of or damage to […]

§ 37-7-144. Patients’ Right to Vote

Each patient in a facility who is eligible to vote shall be given his right to vote in primary, special, and general elections and in referendums. The superintendent or regional state hospital administrator of each facility shall permit and reasonably assist patients: To obtain voter registration forms, applications for absentee ballots, and absentee ballots; To […]

§ 37-7-145. Employment of Patients Outside Facilities

If a patient wishes to be employed outside a facility and if such employment will aid in the patient’s treatment, he shall be assisted in his efforts to secure suitable employment and all benefits flowing from such employment. The department shall encourage such employment of patients and shall promote the training of patients for gainful […]

§ 37-7-146. Education of Children Undergoing Treatment in a Facility

The rights of any child under treatment in a facility to an appropriate education at public expense shall not be abridged during hospitalization; and the special educational needs of each child shall be individually considered and respected. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the State Department of Education shall ensure that education […]

§ 37-7-147. Appointment of Patient Representatives and Guardians Ad Litem; Notice Provisions; Duration and Scope of Guardianship Ad Litem

At the time a patient is admitted to any facility under this chapter, that facility shall use diligent efforts to secure the names and addresses of at least two representatives, which names and addresses shall be entered in the patient’s clinical record. The patient may designate one representative; the second representative or, in the absence […]

§ 37-7-148. Rights of Patients or Representatives to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and for Judicial Protection of Rights and Privileges Granted by This Chapter

At any time and without notice, a person detained by a facility, a mental health care agent named in such person’s psychiatric advance directive, a legal guardian of such person, or a relative or friend on behalf of such person may petition, as provided by law, for a writ of habeas corpus to question the […]

§ 37-7-149. Establishment of Patients and Staff Complaint Procedures; Making of Final Decisions; Complaint Procedures as Alternative to Legal Remedies

Each facility shall establish procedures whereby complaints of the patient or complaints of the staff concerning treatment of the patient can be speedily heard, with final decisions to be made by the superintendent, the regional state hospital administrator, or an advisory committee, whichever is appropriate. The board shall establish reasonable rules and regulations for the […]

§ 37-7-150. [Effective July 1, 2023. See note.] Right to Appeal Orders of Probate Court, Juvenile Court, or Hearing Examiner; Payment of Costs of Appeal; Right of Patient to Subsequent Appeal; Right of Patient to Legal Counsel on Appeal

The patient, the patient’s representatives, or the patient’s attorney may appeal any order of the probate court or hearing officer rendered in a proceeding under this chapter to the superior court of the county in which the proceeding was held, except as otherwise provided in Article 6 of Chapter 9 of Title 15, and may […]

§ 37-7-150. [Effective Until July 1, 2023. See note.] Right to Appeal Orders of Probate Court, Juvenile Court, or Hearing Examiner; Payment of Costs of Appeal; Right of Patient to Subsequent Appeal; Right of Patient to Legal Counsel on Appeal

The patient, the patient’s representatives, or the patient’s attorney may appeal any order of the probate court or hearing officer rendered in a proceeding under this chapter to the superior court of the county in which the proceeding was held, except as otherwise provided in Article 6 of Chapter 9 of Title 15, and may […]