I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4302

To amend title 21, District of Columbia Official Code, to enact the provisions 

of the Mental Health Civil Commitment Act of 2002 which affect the 

Commission on Mental Health and require action by Congress in order 

to take effect. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2004

Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia (for himself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 

A BILL

To amend title 21, District of Columbia Official Code, to 

enact the provisions of the Mental Health Civil Commitment Act of 2002 which affect the Commission on Mental Health and require action by Congress in order to 

take effect.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia 

5 Civil Commitment Modernization Act of 2004’’.
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1 SEC. 2. COMPOSITION, APPOINTMENT, AND ORGANIZATION 

2 OF COMMISSION ON MENTAL HEALTH. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21–502, District of Co4 lumbia Official Code, is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 21–502. Commission on Mental Health; composi6 tion; appointment and terms of members; 

7 organization; chairperson; salaries. 

8 ‘‘(a) The Commission on Mental Health is continued. 

9 The Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of 

10 Columbia shall appoint the members of the Commission, 

11 and the Commission shall be composed of 9 members and 

12 an alternate chairperson. One member shall be a mag13 istrate judge of the Court appointed pursuant to title 11, 

14 District of Columbia Official Code, who shall be a member 

15 of the bar of the Court and has engaged in active practice 

16 of law in the District of Columbia for a period of at least 

17 5 years prior to his or her appointment. The magistrate 

18 judge shall be the Chairperson of the Commission and act 

19 as the administrative head of the Commission. The Chair20 person shall preside at all hearings and direct all of the 

21 proceedings before the Commission. Eight members of the 

22 Commission shall be psychiatrists or qualified psycholo23 gists, as those terms are defined in section 21–501, who 

24 have not had less than 5 years of experience in the diag25 nosis and treatment of mental illness. 
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1 ‘‘(b)(1) Appointment of members of the Commission 

2 shall be for terms of 4 years. 

3 ‘‘(2) The initial appointment of a psychiatrist or a 

4 qualified psychologist shall be for a probationary period 

5 of one year. After the initial one-year probationary ap6 pointment, subsequent appointments of the psychiatrist or 

7 qualified psychologist shall be for terms of 4 years. 

8 ‘‘(c) The psychiatrist or qualified psychologist mem9 bers of the Commission shall serve on a part-time basis 

10 and shall be rotated by assignment of the Chief Judge of 

11 the Court, so that at any one time the Commission shall 

12 consist of the Chairperson and 2 members, each of whom 

13 is either a psychiatrist or a qualified psychologist. Mem14 bers of the Commission who are psychiatrists or qualified 

15 psychologists may practice their professions during their 

16 tenures of office, but may not participate in the disposition 

17 of a case of a person in which they have rendered profes18 sional service or advice. 

19 ‘‘(d) The Chief Judge of the Court shall appoint a 

20 magistrate judge of the Court to serve as an alternate 

21 Chairperson of the Commission. The alternate Chair22 person shall serve on a part time basis and act as Chair23 person in the absence of the permanent Chairperson. 

24 ‘‘(e) The rate of compensation for the members of 

25 the Commission who are psychiatrists or qualified psy-
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1 chologists shall be fixed by the Executive Officer of the 

2 Court.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating to 

4 section 21–502 in the table of sections for subchapter I 

5 of chapter 5 of title 21, District of Columbia Official Code, 

6 is amended to read as follows:

‘‘21–502. Commission on Mental Health; composition; appointment and 

terms of members; organization; chairperson; salaries.’’.

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION FOR CURRENT

8 MEMBERS.—The amendments made by this section shall 

9 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, except 

10 nothing in this section or the amendments made by this 

11 section may be construed to affect the appointment or 

12 term of service of any individual who serves as a member 

13 or alternate member of the Commission on Mental Health 

14 (including an individual who serves as the Chairperson or 

15 alternate Chairperson of the Commission) on such date. 

16 SEC. 3. COMMISSION MEMBERS DEEMED COMPETENT AND 

17 COMPELLABLE WITNESSES AT MENTAL 

18 HEALTH PROCEEDINGS. 

19 Section 21–503(b), District of Columbia Official 

20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘The Commission, or any 

21 of the members thereof,’’ and inserting ‘‘Commission 

22 members who are psychiatrists or qualified psychologists’’.
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1 SEC. 4. DETENTION FOR EMERGENCY OBSERVATION AND 

2 DIAGNOSIS. 

3 Section 21–526, District of Columbia Official Code, 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 sections: 

6 ‘‘(c) The maximum period of time for detention for 

7 emergency observation and diagnosis may be extended for 

8 up to 21 days, if judicial proceedings under subchapter 

9 IV of this chapter have been commenced before the expira10 tion of the order entered under section 21–524 and a psy11 chiatrist or qualified psychologist has examined the person 

12 who is the subject of the judicial proceedings and is of 

13 the opinion that the person being detained remains men14 tally ill and is likely to injure himself or others as a result 

15 of the illness unless the emergency detention is continued. 

16 For good cause shown, the Court may extend the period 

17 of detention for emergency observation and diagnosis. The 

18 period of detention for emergency observation and diag19 nosis may be extended pursuant to section 21–543(b) or 

20 following a hearing before the Commission pursuant to 

21 subsections (d) and (e) of this section. 

22 ‘‘(d) If the Commission, at the conclusion of its hear23 ing pursuant to section 21–542, has found that the person 

24 with respect to whom the hearing was held is mentally 

25 ill and, because of the mental illness, is likely to injure 

26 himself or others if not committed, and has concluded that 
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1 a recommendation of inpatient commitment is the least 

2 restrictive alternative available to prevent the person from 

3 injuring himself or others, the detention for emergency ob4 servation and diagnosis may be continued by the Depart5 ment or hospital—

6 ‘‘(1) pending the conclusion of judicial pro7 ceedings under subchapter IV of this chapter; 

8 ‘‘(2) until the Court enters an order dis9 charging the person; or 

10 ‘‘(3) until the Department or hospital deter11 mines that continued hospitalization is no longer the 

12 least restrictive form of treatment appropriate for 

13 the person being detained. 

14 ‘‘(e) If the Commission, at the conclusion of its hear15 ing, finds that the person is mentally ill, is likely to injure 

16 himself or other persons as a result of mental illness if 

17 not committed, and that outpatient treatment is the least 

18 restrictive form of commitment appropriate, then, within 

19 14 days of the date of the hearing, the person shall be 

20 discharged from inpatient status and shall receive out21 patient mental health services or mental health supports 

22 as an emergency nonvoluntary patient consistent with this 

23 subchapter, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings 

24 under subchapter IV of this chapter.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. REPRESENTATION BY COUNSEL OF PERSONS AL2 LEGED TO BE MENTALLY ILL. 

3 Section 21–543, District of Columbia Official Code, 

4 is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a) (as redesignated by section 

6 2(r)(1) of the Mental Health Civil Commitment Act 

7 of 2002), by striking the last sentence; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(b) The Commission may not grant a continuance 

11 for counsel to prepare his case for more than 5 days. The 

12 Commission may grant continuances for good cause shown 

13 for periods of up to 14 days. If the Commission grants 

14 a continuance, the emergency observation and detention 

15 of the person about whom the hearing is being held shall 

16 be extended for the duration of the continuance.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. HEARING AND DETERMINATION ON QUESTION OF 

18 MENTAL ILLNESS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21–545, District of Co20 lumbia Official Code, is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘jury trial’’ 

22 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘jury trial or a 

23 trial by the Court’’; 

24 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol25 lows: 
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1 ‘‘(b)(1) If the Court or jury finds that the person is 

2 not mentally ill or is not likely to injure himself or others 

3 as a result of mental illness, the Court shall dismiss the 

4 petition and order the person’s release. 

5 ‘‘(2) If the Court or jury finds that the person is men6 tally ill and, because of that mental illness, is likely to 

7 injure himself or others if not committed, the Court may 

8 order the person’s commitment to the Department or to 

9 any other facility, hospital, or mental health provider that 

10 the Court believes is the least restrictive alternative con11 sistent with the best interests of the person and the public. 

12 An order of commitment issued pursuant to this para13 graph shall be for a period of one year.’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 sections: 

16 ‘‘(c) The psychiatrists and qualified psychologists 

17 who are members of the Commission shall be competent 

18 and compellable witnesses at a hearing or trial held pursu19 ant to this chapter. 

20 ‘‘(d) The jury to be used in any case where a jury 

21 trial is demanded under this chapter shall be impaneled, 

22 upon order of the Court, from the jurors in attendance 

23 upon other branches of the Court, who shall perform the 

24 services in addition to and as part of their duties in the 

25 Court.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply with respect to trials under section 

3 21–545, District of Columbia Code, which are initiated on 

4 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 7. RENEWAL OF COMMITMENT STATUS BY COMMIS6 SION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 5 of 

8 title 21, District of Columbia Official Code, is amended 

9 by inserting after section 21–545 the following new sec10 tion: 

11 ‘‘§ 21–545.01. Renewal of commitment status by Com12 mission; review by Court. 

13 ‘‘(a) At least 60 days prior to the expiration of an 

14 order of commitment issued pursuant to section 21–545 

15 or this section, the chief clinical officer of the Department, 

16 or the chief of service of the facility, hospital, or mental 

17 health provider to which the person is committed may peti18 tion the Commission for a renewal of the order of commit19 ment for that person. For good cause shown, a petition 

20 of commitment may be filed within the last 60 days of 

21 the one-year period of commitment. The petition for re22 newal of commitment shall be supported by a certificate 

23 of a psychiatrist or qualified psychologist stating that he 

24 has examined the person and is of the opinion that the 

25 person is mentally ill, and, because of the illness, is likely 
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1 to injure himself or other persons if not committed. The 

2 term of the renewed commitment order shall not exceed 

3 one year. 

4 ‘‘(b) Within 3 days of the filing of a petition under 

5 subsection (a) of this section, the Commission shall send 

6 a copy of the petition and supporting certificate by reg7 istered mail to the person with respect to whom the peti8 tion was filed and by regular mail to the person’s attorney. 

9 ‘‘(c) The Commission shall promptly examine a per10 son for whom a petition is filed under subsection (a) of 

11 this section, and, in accordance with the procedures de12 scribed in sections 21–542 and 21–543, shall thereafter 

13 promptly hold a hearing on the issue of the person’s men14 tal illness and whether, as a result of a mental illness, 

15 the person is likely to injure himself or other persons if 

16 not committed. 

17 ‘‘(d) If the Commission finds, after a hearing under 

18 subsection (c) of this section, that the person with respect 

19 to whom the hearing was held is no longer mentally ill, 

20 or is not mentally ill to the extent that the person is likely 

21 to injure himself or other persons if not committed, the 

22 Commission shall immediately order the termination of the 

23 commitment and notify the Court of that fact in writing. 

24 ‘‘(e) If the Commission finds, after a hearing under 

25 subsection (c) of this section, that the person with respect 
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1 to whom the hearing was held remains mentally ill to the 

2 extent that the person is likely to injure himself or others 

3 if not committed, the Commission shall order the renewal 

4 of the commitment of the person for an additional term 

5 not to exceed one year and shall promptly report that fact, 

6 in writing, to the Court. The report shall contain the Com7 mission’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. A copy 

8 of the report shall be served by registered mail on the per9 son with respect to whom the hearing was held and by 

10 mail on the person’s attorney. 

11 ‘‘(f) If a petition for a renewal of an order of commit12 ment is pending at the expiration of the commitment pe13 riod ordered under section 21–545 or this section, the 

14 Court may, for good cause shown, extend the period of 

15 commitment pending resolution of the renewal petition. 

16 ‘‘(g) Within the last 30 days of the period of commit17 ment, the chief clinical officer of the Department, or the 

18 chief of service of the facility, hospital, or mental health 

19 provider to which a person is committed, shall notify the 

20 Court which ordered the person’s commitment pursuant 

21 to section 21–545 or this section of the decision not to 

22 seek renewal of commitment. Notice to the Court shall be 

23 in writing and a copy of the notice shall be mailed to the 

24 person who was committed and the person’s attorney. 
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1 ‘‘(h)(1) A person for whom the Commission orders 

2 renewed commitment pursuant to subsection (e) of this 

3 section may seek a review of the Commission’s order by 

4 the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and the 

5 Commission, orally and in writing, shall advise the person 

6 of this right. 

7 ‘‘(2) A review of the Commission’s order of renewed 

8 commitment, in whole or in part, may be made by a judge 

9 of the appropriate division sua sponte and shall be made 

10 upon a motion of one of the parties made pursuant to pro11 cedures established by rules of the Court. The reviewing 

12 judge shall conduct such proceedings as required by the 

13 rules of the Court. 

14 ‘‘(3) An appeal to the District of Columbia Court of 

15 Appeals may be made only after a judge of the Court has 

16 reviewed the Commission’s order of renewed commit17 ment.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 of subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title 21, District of Co20 lumbia Official Code, is amended by inserting after the 

21 item relating to section 21–545 the following:

‘‘21–545.01. Renewal of commitment status by Commission; review by 

Court.’’.

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply with respect to orders of commit-
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1 ment issued on or after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act.

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