Wis. Stat. § 51.37 — WI Code / Chapter 51 / Section 51.37
Criminal commitments; mental health institutes.
Status: in_force

(1) All commitments under s. 975.01 , 1977 stats., and s. 975.02 , 1977 stats., and under ss. 971.14 (5) , 971.17 and 975.06 shall be to the department.

(3) The Mendota and Winnebago mental health institutes may be used for the custody, care and treatment of persons committed or transferred thereto pursuant to this section and chs. 971 and 975 .

(4) The department may, with the approval of the committing court and the county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 , and subject to s. 51.35 , transfer to the care and custody of a county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 any person in an institution of the department committed under s. 971.14 or 971.17 , if in its opinion, the mental condition of the person is such that further care is required and can be properly provided under the direction of the county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 .

(5)

(a) When a health care professional of a state prison, of a county jail, or of the department of corrections reports in writing to the officer in charge of a jail or institution that any prisoner is, in his or her opinion, mentally ill, drug dependent, or developmentally disabled and is appropriate for treatment as described in s. 51.20 (1) , or is dangerous and is an alcoholic or a person who is drug dependent as described in s. 51.45 (13) (a) 1. and 2. ; or that the prisoner is mentally ill, drug dependent, developmentally disabled or is an alcoholic and is in need of psychiatric or psychological treatment, and that the prisoner voluntarily consents to a transfer for treatment, the officer shall make a written report to the department of corrections which may transfer the prisoner if a voluntary application is made and the department of health services consents. If voluntary application is not made, the department of corrections may file a petition for involuntary commitment under s. 51.20 (1) or 51.45 (13) . Any time spent by a prisoner in an institution designated under sub. (3) or s. 51.37 (2) , 1983 stats., shall be included as part of the individual’s sentence.

(b) The department of corrections may authorize an emergency transfer of an individual from a prison, jail, or other criminal detention facility to a state treatment facility if there is cause to believe that the individual is mentally ill, drug dependent, or developmentally disabled and exhibits conduct which constitutes a danger as described in s. 51.20 (1) (a) 2. a. , b. , c. , or d. of physical harm to himself or herself or to others, or is mentally ill and satisfies the standard under s. 51.20 (1) (a) 2. e. or is dangerous and is an alcoholic or a person who is drug dependent as provided in s. 51.45 (13) (a) 1. and 2. If there is cause to believe that an individual is in active psychosis and exhibits conduct which constitutes a danger as described in s. 51.20 (1) (a) 2. a. , b. , c. , or d. of physical harm to himself or herself or to others and the individual remains in active psychosis for more than 72 hours and has not been stabilized, the department of corrections shall authorize the emergency transfer of the individual from a prison, and the sheriff or other keeper of a jail or other criminal detention facility shall authorize the emergency transfer of the individual from a jail or other criminal detention facility to a state treatment facility or, if the individual has been sentenced to prison, to the Wisconsin Resource Center established under s. 46.056 . The correctional custodian of the sending institution and the attending health care professional of the sending institution shall jointly execute a statement of emergency detention or petition for emergency commitment for the individual and deliver it to the receiving state treatment facility or the Wisconsin Resource Center established under s. 46.056 . The department of health services shall file the statement or petition with the court within 24 hours after receiving the subject individual for detention. The statement or petition shall conform to s. 51.15 (4) or (5) or 51.45 (12) (b) . After an emergency transfer is made, the director of the receiving facility or center may file a petition for continued commitment under s. 51.20 (1) or 51.45 (13) or may return the individual to the institution from which the transfer was made. As an alternative to this procedure, the emergency detention procedure in s. 51.15 or 51.45 (12) may be used, except that no prisoner may be released without the approval of the court which directed confinement in the institution. Any transportation expenses related to a transfer under this paragraph shall be paid for by the department of corrections.

(bm) If an individual in active psychosis has not been transferred to a state treatment facility or the Wisconsin Resource Center established under s. 46.056 within 48 hours after the department of corrections authorized an emergency transfer under par. (b) , the attending health care professional of the sending institution shall evaluate the individual every 24 hours until the individual is transferred.

(c) No state treatment facility may accept for admission an individual who is being transferred from a county jail under par. (a) or (b) without the approval of the county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 of the county in which the jail is located. No state treatment facility may retain such an individual beyond 72 hours without the approval of the county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 of the county where the transferred individual has legal residence.

(6) After an emergency transfer is made, the director of the receiving facility may file a petition for continued commitment under s. 51.20 (1) .

(7) Section 51.20 (18) applies to witness fees, attorney fees and other court fees incurred under this section.

(8)

(a) Rights to reexamination under s. 51.20 (16) apply to a prisoner or inmate who is found to be mentally ill or drug dependent except that the petition shall be made to the court that made the finding or, if the prisoner or inmate is detained by transfer, to the circuit court of the county in which he or she is detained. If upon rehearing it is found that the standards for recommitment under s. 51.20 (13) (g) no longer apply to the prisoner or inmate or that he or she is not in need of psychiatric or psychological treatment, the prisoner or inmate shall be returned to the prison or county jail or house of correction unless it is past his or her release date as determined under s. 302.11 or 302.113 , whichever is applicable, in which case he or she shall be discharged.

(b) If the condition of any prisoner or inmate committed or transferred under this section requires psychiatric or psychological treatment after his or her date of release as determined under s. 302.11 or 302.113 , whichever is applicable, the director of the state treatment facility shall, within a reasonable time before the release date of the prisoner or inmate, make a written application to the court that committed the prisoner or inmate under sub. (5) (a) . Thereupon, the proceeding shall be upon application made under s. 51.20 , but no physician or psychologist who is connected with a state prison, Winnebago Mental Health Institute, Mendota Mental Health Institute, or any county jail or house of correction may be appointed as an examiner. If the court does not commit the prisoner or inmate, it may dismiss the application and order the prisoner or inmate returned to the institution from which he or she was transferred until the release date of the prisoner or inmate. If the court commits the prisoner or inmate for the period commencing upon his or her release date, the commitment shall be to the care and custody of the county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437 .

(9) If in the judgment of the director of Mendota Mental Health Institute, Winnebago Mental Health Institute or the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex, any person who is committed under s. 971.14 or 971.17 is not in such condition as warrants his or her return to the court but is in a condition to receive a conditional transfer or discharge under supervision, the director shall report to the department of health services, the committing court and the district attorney of the county in which the court is located his or her reasons for the judgment. If the court does not file objection to the conditional transfer or discharge within 60 days of the date of the report, the director may, with the approval of the department of health services, conditionally transfer any person to a legal guardian or other person, subject to the rules of the department of health services. Before a person is conditionally transferred or discharged under supervision under this subsection, the department of health services shall so notify the municipal police department and county sheriff for the area where the person will be residing. The notification requirement does not apply if a municipal department or county sheriff submits to the department of health services a written statement waiving the right to be notified. The department of health services may contract with the department of corrections for the supervision of persons who are transferred or discharged under this subsection.

(10)

(a) In this subsection:

1. “Crime” has the meaning designated in s. 949.01 (1) .

2. “Extended home visit or leave” means a home visit or leave lasting 24 hours or longer.

3. “Member of the family” means spouse, child, sibling, parent or legal guardian.

4. “Victim” means a person against whom a crime has been committed.

(am) The director of a state treatment facility may grant to any patient admitted to the facility as a result of a commitment under ch. 971 or 975 , a home visit for up to 15 days, or a leave for employment or education purposes in which the patient is not absent from the facility for more than 15 days.

(b) Such a home visit or leave may be granted by the department at its discretion when it is believed to be in the best therapeutic interests of the patient and it is reasonably believed not to present a substantial risk of harm to the community.

(c) Any patient who is granted a home visit or leave under this subsection shall be restricted to the confines of this state unless otherwise specifically permitted. The patient may, in addition, be restricted to a particular geographic area. Other conditions appropriate to the person’s treatment may also be imposed upon the home visit or leave.

(d) If such a patient does not return to the treatment facility by the time designated in the granting of the home visit or leave, or if the patient is believed to have violated other conditions of the home visit or leave, the director of the treatment facility may request the sheriff of the county in which the patient is found to return the patient to the facility. The sheriff shall act in accordance with s. 51.39 .

(dg) If the department grants a patient an extended home visit or leave under this subsection, the department shall do all of the following in accordance with par. (dm) :

1. Notify the office of the judge who committed the patient.

2. Notify the office of the district attorney who participated in the commitment proceedings.

3. Make a reasonable attempt to notify the victim of the crime committed by the patient or, if the victim died as a result of the crime, an adult member of the victim’s family or, if the victim is younger than 18 years old, the victim’s parent or legal guardian, after the submission of a card under par. (dx) requesting notification.

(dm)

1. The notice under par. (dg) shall inform the offices and person under par. (dg) 1. to 3. of the patient’s name and of the date the patient will begin the home visit or leave. The department shall provide notice under this paragraph for a patient’s first extended home visit or leave and, upon request, for subsequent extended home visits or leaves.

2. The department shall send the notice, postmarked at least 7 days before the patient begins the extended home visit or leave, to the last-known address of the offices and person under par. (dg) 1. to 3.

3. If the notice is for a first extended home visit or leave, the notice shall inform the offices and person under par. (dg) 1. to 3. that notification of subsequent extended home visits or leaves will be provided only upon request.

(dx) The department shall design and prepare cards for persons specified in par. (dg) 3. to send to the department. The cards shall have space for these persons to provide their names and addresses, the name of the applicable patient and any other information the department determines is necessary. The department shall provide the cards, without charge, to district attorneys. District attorneys shall provide the cards, without charge, to persons specified in par. (dg) 3. These persons may send completed cards to the department. All departmental records or portions of records that relate to mailing addresses of these persons are not subject to inspection or copying under s. 19.35 (1) .

(e) The director of the facility in which the patient under par. (am) is detained or committed shall notify the appropriate correctional officers of the department of corrections of the intention to grant a home visit or leave under this subsection at least 20 days prior to the departure of the patient from the facility.

(f) This section does not apply to persons transferred from a prison or jail under sub. (5) .

(g) A home visit or leave does not constitute a transfer under this chapter and return to the facility does not necessitate a hearing under s. 51.35 or 51.61 .

(11) When an individual who is in the custody of or under the supervision of a correctional officer of the department of corrections is transferred, discharged or is on unauthorized absence from a treatment facility, the probation, extended supervision and parole agent or other individual within the department of corrections who is responsible for that individual’s supervision shall be notified as soon as possible by the director of the treatment facility.

History: 1975 c. 430 ; 1977 c. 418 ss. 360 to 362 , 929 (55) ; 1977 c. 428 ss. 80 , 81 , 115 ; 1977 c. 447 ; 1977 c. 449 s. 497 ; 1979 c. 32 , 117 , 175 , 221 ; 1983 a. 27 , 359 , 474 ; 1985 a. 29 ss. 1075 to 1077 , 3200 (56) , 3202 (23) ; 1985 a. 176 ; 1987 a. 307 , 394 ; 1989 a. 31 , 359 ; 1991 a. 39 , 269 ; 1995 a. 27 s. 9126 (19) ; 1995 a. 292 ; 1997 a. 181 , 283 ; 2001 a. 16 s. 4034zj ; 2001 a. 103 ; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a) ; 2017 a. 34 ; 2023 a. 229 .