(a) The court shall give the defendant, the plaintiff, and all other persons to whom the clerk is required to give notice of the proceeding, an opportunity to appear at the hearing, to testify, and to present and cross-examine witnesses.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-3-612
Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
Hospital: means a public or private hospital or facility or part of a hospital or facility equipped to provide inpatient care and treatment for persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
Testify: Answer questions in court.
written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The defendant shall be present at the hearing unless the defendant waives the right to be present in writing. If the defendant’s attorney shows that the defendant’s physical health would be endangered by being at the hearing, the court may order a continuance until the risk is terminated, and the defendant shall not be discharged during the continuance unless the hospital determines that the defendant no longer meets the commitment standards applicable in the hearing that has been continued. If the court determines that the defendant’s conduct at the hearing is so violent or otherwise disruptive that it creates a serious risk of harm to the defendant or others at the hearing or so disrupts the proceedings that they cannot be conducted in a proper manner, the court may order the defendant restrained or excluded to the extent necessary to the proper conduct of the proceedings. If the defendant is not present at or is excluded from the hearing, the court shall make a written finding of fact as to why the hearing is held in defendant’s absence.
