Section 15.24 Petition for Release

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

2. (§15.24) Petition for Release

The committed person or the superintendent of the hospital where the person is committed may petition the court for a conditional or unconditional release. Copies of the petition for release must be served on the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the commitment arose. If no objection to the release is filed within 15 days, the court must release the committed person. If objection to the release is filed, a hearing is held. The objection to the committed person’s release can be made by the superintendent of the hospital where the person is committed or by the prosecuting attorney.

All parties (prosecuting attorney, superintendent of the hospital, committed person) are entitled, upon written application, to an examination of the committed person by a physician of their choosing, at their expense. Section 552.040.5, RSMo 2000.

The trial court, not the treating physician, makes the determination...