Revised Code of Washington - RCW Title 71 Mental Illness - Section 71.09.080 Rights of persons committed under this chapter

§ 71.09.080. Rights of persons committed under this chapter

(1) Any person subjected to restricted liberty as a sexually violent predator pursuant to this chapter shall not forfeit any legal right or suffer any legal disability as a consequence of any actions taken or orders made, other than as specifically provided in this chapter.

(2) Any person committed pursuant to this chapter has the right to adequate care and individualized treatment. The department of social and health services shall keep records detailing all medical, expert, and professional care and treatment received by a committed person, and shall keep copies of all reports of periodic examinations made pursuant to this chapter. All such records and reports shall be made available upon request only to: The committed person, his or her attorney, the prosecuting attorney, the court, the protection and advocacy agency, or another expert or professional person who, upon proper showing, demonstrates a need for access to such records.

(3) At the time a person is taken into custody or transferred into a facility pursuant to a petition under this chapter, the professional person in charge of such facility or his or her designee shall take reasonable precautions to inventory and safeguard the personal property of the persons detained or transferred. A copy of the inventory, signed by the staff member making it, shall be given to the person detained and shall, in addition, be open to inspection to any responsible relative, subject to limitations, if any, specifically imposed by the detained person. For purposes of this subsection, "responsible relative" includes the guardian, conservator, attorney, spouse, parent, adult child, or adult brother or sister of the person. The facility shall not disclose the contents of the inventory to any other person without consent of the patient or order of the court.

(4) Nothing in this chapter prohibits a person presently committed from exercising a right presently available to him or her for the purpose of obtaining release from confinement, including the right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

(5) No indigent person may be conditionally released or unconditionally discharged under this chapter without suitable clothing, and the secretary shall furnish the person with such sum of money as is required by RCW 72.02.100 for persons without ample funds who are released from correctional institutions. As funds are available, the secretary may provide payment to the indigent persons conditionally released pursuant to this chapter consistent with the optional provisions of RCW 72.02.100 and 72.02.110, and may adopt rules to do so.

[1995 c 216 § 8; 1990 c 3 § 1008.]

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Last modified: April 7, 2009