Walk It Through: The Evaluation Hold

Not an arrest, a voluntary option first, and up to 72 hours from first detention.

A peace officer and a mobile crisis team arrive at a home after a call about someone in crisis, and the person is taken into custody there.

Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.

One 72 hour hold begun at a home. Certification for further treatment, the hearings that go with it, how gravely disabled is defined, and the rules for a minor are not worked through here.

A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.

Words this turns on

Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.

72 hour holdCustody of up to 72 hours for assessment, evaluation and crisis intervention, taken on probable cause when a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to others or to themselves, or gravely disabled. The 72 hours begin when the person is first detained.