A court may impose sanctions for certain program violations, and the defendant must be given the specific reasons if dismissed from the mental health court program.
§5358. Violation; sanctions; dismissal; discharge of criminal charges A. Violations by the defendant. (1) If a court finds, from the evidence presented, including but not limited to the reports or proffers of proof from the mental health court professionals that any of the conditions set forth in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection are met, sanctions may be imposed. (2)(a) The defendant is not performing satisfactorily in the assigned program. (b) The defendant is not benefitting from education, treatment, or rehabilitation. (c) The defendant has engaged in criminal conduct rendering the defendant unsuitable for continuing participation in the program. (d) The defendant has otherwise violated the terms and conditions of the program or of the defendant's sentence. (e) The defendant is for any reason unable to continue participation in the program. B. Sanctions. The court may impose reasonable sanctions under prior written agreement of the defendant, including but not limited to imprisonment or dismissal of the defendant from participation in the program. C.(1) Dismissal from the program. If an individual who has enrolled in a mental health court program violates any of the conditions of his probation or his treatment agreement or appears to be performing unsatisfactorily in the assigned program, or if it appears that the probationer is not benefitting from education, treatment, or rehabilitation, the treatment supervisor, probation officer, or the district attorney may move the court to dismiss the individual from the mental health court program. (2) If the court dismisses the defendant from the mental health court program, the defendant shall be provided with the specific reasons for his dismissal from the program. D. Discharge from criminal charges. Upon successful completion of the terms and conditions of the program, the court may do any of the following: (1) The court may dismiss the original criminal charges against the defendant. (2) The court may successfully terminate the original sentence of the defendant. (3) The court may otherwise discharge the defendant from the program or from any further proceedings against the defendant as may be pending in the original criminal matter. Acts 2013, No. 346, §1.