Taken In For An Evaluation

In North Carolina, anyone who knows of a person who has a mental illness and is dangerous to self or others, or needs treatment to prevent further disability or deterioration that would predictably result in dangerousness, may appear before a clerk of superior court or a magistrate, sign an affidavit to that effect, and petition for an order taking the person into custody for examination by a commitment examiner. The affidavit states the facts the opinion is based on.

• §G.S. 122C-261

• If the clerk or magistrate finds reasonable grounds to believe the facts are true and the person probably meets the standard, they issue an order to a law enforcement officer or other designated person to take the person into custody for examination.
• The clerk or magistrate gives the petitioner, and the person if present, specific information about the next steps.
• The clerk or magistrate also inquires whether the person is indigent.
• The officer or designated person takes the person into custody within 24 hours after the order is signed, and the order is valid throughout the State.

• §G.S. 122C-261

Jurisdiction lies with the clerk or magistrate in the county where the person lives or is found. Where the affiant is a commitment examiner who has already examined the person, the affidavit may be signed before any official who administers oaths and filed without appearing in person.

• §G.S. 122C-261

The first examination after custody, the time limits on it, the procedure when immediate hospitalization is necessary, and the district court hearing are in other sections of the Article and are not reproduced here. Whether a custody order met the statute is a question for a court and for a licensed North Carolina attorney.

• §G.S. 122C-261