V.I. Code tit. 19, § 662 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 19 - Health|Part III - Food and Drugs|Chapter 29 - Controlled Substances|Subchapter IV - Civil Commitment and Rehabilitation of Narcotic Addicts|§ 662. Discretionary authority of court; examination, report, and determination by court; termination of civil commitment

 (a) If the District Court of the Virgin Islands or the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands has reason to believe that an eligible individual is an addict, the court may advise him at his first appearance or thereafter at the sole discretion of the court that the prosecution of the criminal charge will be held in abeyance if he elects to submit to an immediate examination to determine whether he is an addict and is likely to be rehabilitated through treatment. In offering an individual an election, the court shall advise him that if he elects to be examined, he will be confined during the examination for a period not to exceed sixty days; that if he is determined to be an addict who is likely to be rehabilitated, he will be civilly committed to the Commissioner of Health for treatment; that he may not voluntarily withdraw from the examination or any treatment which may follow; that the treatment shall last for so long as the Commissioner may determine, but in no event for more than thirty-six months; that during treatment, he will be confined in an institution and, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Health, he may be conditionally released for supervised aftercare treatment in the community; and that if he successfully completes treatment the charge will be dismissed, but if he does not, prosecution on the charge will be resumed. An individual upon being advised that he may elect to submit to an examination shall be permitted a maximum of five days within which to make his election which election shall be in writing and shall contain a waiver of the right to release on bail or upon his own cognizance; except on a showing that a timely election could not have been made, an individual shall be barred from an election after the prescribed period. An individual who elects civil commitment shall be placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Health, as the court directs, for an examination by the Commissioner of Health, or such other qualified medical personnel as shall be designated by the Commissioner during a period not to exceed thirty days. This period may, upon notice to the court and the United States Attorney or the Attorney General whichever shall be charged with the prosecution of the complaint be extended by the Commissioner of Health for an additional thirty days. (b) The Commissioner of Health shall report to the court the results of the examination and recommend whether the individual should be civilly committed. A copy of the report shall be made available to the individual and the United States Attorney or the Attorney General whichever shall be charged with the prosecution of the complaint. If the court, acting on the report and other competent information coming to its attention, determines that the individual is not an addict or is an addict not likely to be rehabilitated through treatment, the individual shall be held to answer the abeyant charge. If the court determines that the individual is an addict and is likely to be rehabilitated through treatment, the court shall commit him to the custody of the Commissioner of Health for treatment, except that no individual shall be committed under this subchapter if the Commissioner of Health certifies that adequate facilities or personnel for treatment are unavailable. (c) Whenever an individual is committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Health for treatment under this subchapter the criminal charge against him shall be continued without final disposition and shall be dismissed if the Commissioner of Health certifies to the court that the individual has successfully completed the treatment program. On receipt of such certification, the court shall discharge the individual from custody and dismiss the charge against him. If prior to such certification the Commissioner of Health determines that the individual cannot be further treated as a medical problem, he shall advise the court. The court shall thereupon terminate the commitment, and the pending criminal proceeding shall be resumed. (d) An individual committed for examination or treatment shall not be released on bail or on his own recognizance. (e) Any person who escapes or attempts to escape while committed to institutional custody for examination or treatment, or any person who rescues or attempts to rescue or instigates, aids, or assists the escape or attempts to assist the escape of such a person, shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 661 of Title 14, Virgin Islands Code.