Terms Used In 10 Guam Code Ann. § 82401

  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(a) Every person detained by certification for intensive treatment or temporary conservatorship shall have a right to a hearing by writ of habeas

COL622016
10 Guam Code Ann. HEALTH AND SAFETY
CH. 82 MENTALLY ILL PERSONS

corpus for his release after he or his attorney has made a request to leave to any member of the staff of a facility providing intensive treatment.

(b) Any member of the staff to whom a request for release is made shall promptly provide the patient for his signature or mark, a copy of the form set forth below. The member of the staff shall fill in his own name and the date, and, if the patient signs by mark, shall fill in the patient’s name, and shall then deliver the completed copy to the qualified mental health professional person in charge, or his designee, notifying him of the request. No later than the next working day, the person notified shall inform the Superior Court and the Attorney General. The staff shall also permit the patient to telephone his attorney.
(c) The form for a request for release shall be substantially as follows: Request for Release
(Name of the facility)

day of

, 19 .

I, (member of the staff), have today received
a request for release from the undersigned patient:

(Signature or mark of patient)

§ 82402. Jurisdiction; Time for Granting Writ; When Immediate
Release Required.

Judicial review shall be by the Superior Court. The court shall grant a writ of habeas corpus or order an evidentiary hearing within two (2) judicial days after the petition is filed. If the court finds that the person requesting release is not, as a result of a mental illness, a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled, the person shall be released immediately; provided, that the court shall not release a gravely disabled individual unless all of the conditions set forth in Section 82301(d) of this Chapter relating to non- institutional care are satisfied.

SOURCE: Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 19-016:1 (Apr. 11, 1988).

  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 82 Contents