Treatment staff may remove a person from transitional release for rule violations and can seek an emergency ex parte order; the court must then hold a hearing and decide whether the person returns to transitional release or stays in a secure facility.
1. The treatment staff in a transitional release program may remove the committed person from the program for a violation of any rule or directive, and return the person to a secure facility. The treatment staff may request the district court to issue an emergency ex parte order directing any law enforcement officer to take the committed person into custody so that the person can be returned to a secure facility. The request for an ex parte order may be made orally or by telephone, but the original written request or a facsimile copy of the original request shall be filed with the clerk of court no later than 4:30 p.m. on the next business day the office of the clerk of court is open. 2. If a committed person absconds from a transitional release program in violation of the rules or directives, a presumption arises that the person poses a risk to public safety. The department, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, may make a public announcement about the absconder. The public announcement may include a description of the committed person, that the person is in transitional release from the sexually violent predator program, and any other information important to public safety. 3. Upon the return of the committed person to a secure facility, the director or the director’s designee shall notify the court that issued the ex parte order that the absconder has been returned to a secure facility, and the court shall set a hearing to determine if a violation occurred. If a court order was not issued, the director or the director’s designee shall contact the nearest district court with jurisdiction to set a hearing to determine whether a violation of the rules or directives occurred. The court shall schedule a hearing after receiving notice that the committed person has been returned from the transitional release program to a secure facility. 4. At the hearing, the burden shall be upon the attorney general to show by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of the rules or directives occurred. The hearing shall be to the court. 5. If the court determines a violation occurred, the court shall either order the committed person to be returned to the transitional release program or to be confined in a secure facility. The court may impose further conditions upon the committed person if returned to the transitional release program. If the court determines no violation occurred, the committed person shall be returned to the transitional release program. 2002 Acts, ch 1139, §12, 27; 2018 Acts, ch 1165, §101; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §543