Walk It Through: The Evaluation Hold

Emergency detention, a decision within 24 hours, and 72 hours at most without a hearing.

A law enforcement officer is called about a person who has made recent threats of suicide.

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

One emergency detention by a law enforcement officer. The statement of emergency detention as a petition, the probable cause hearing, commitment proceedings and the standards for drug dependence 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.

Emergency detentionCustody a law enforcement officer takes on cause to believe an individual meets one of the section's standards of dangerousness and that custody is the least restrictive alternative appropriate. The treatment director or a designee decides within 24 hours whether to detain or release.