Section 47.30.725 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Rights; notification(a) When a respondent is detained for evaluation under AS 47.30.660 - 47.30.915, the respondent shall be immediately notified orally and in writing of the rights under this section. Notification must be in a language understood by the respondent. The respondent's guardian, if any, and if the respondent requests, an adult designated by the respondent, shall also be notified of the respondent's rights under this section.(b) Unless a respondent is released or voluntarily admitted for treatment within 72 hours of arrival at the facility or, if the respondent is evaluated by evaluation personnel, within 72 hours from the beginning of the respondent's meeting with evaluation personnel, the respondent is entitled to a court hearing to be set for not later than the end of that 72-hour period to determine whether there is cause for detention after the 72 hours have expired for up to an additional 30 days on the grounds that the respondent is mentally ill, and as a result presents a likelihood of serious harm to the respondent or others, or is gravely disabled. The facility or evaluation personnel shall give notice to the court of the releases and voluntary admissions under AS 47.30.700 - 47.30.815.(c) The respondent has a right to communicate immediately, at the department's expense, with the respondent's guardian, if any, or an adult designated by the respondent and the attorney designated in the ex parte order, or an attorney of the respondent's choice.(d) The respondent has the right to be represented by an attorney, to present evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses who testify against the respondent at the hearing.(e) The respondent has the right to be free of the effects of medication and other forms of treatment to the maximum extent possible before the 30-day commitment hearing; however, the facility or evaluation personnel may treat the respondent with medication under prescription by a licensed physician or by a less restrictive alternative of the respondent's preference if, in the opinion of a licensed physician in the case of medication, or of a mental health professional in the case of alternative treatment, the treatment is necessary to (1) prevent bodily harm to the respondent or others;(2) prevent such deterioration of the respondent's mental condition that subsequent treatment might not enable the respondent to recover; or(3) allow the respondent to prepare for and participate in the proceedings.(f) A respondent, if represented by counsel, may waive, orally or in writing, the 72-hour time limit on the 30-day commitment hearing and have the hearing set for a date no more than seven calendar days after arrival at the facility. The respondent's counsel shall immediately notify the court of the waiver.(g) If a criminal charge of a felony offense against a person under AS 11.41 or felony arson against a respondent has been dismissed under AS 12.47.110 and the respondent is detained for evaluation or committed under AS 47.30.700 - 47.30.915, (1) the Department of Law shall notify a victim in the dismissed criminal case (A) of the time and place of a hearing under AS 47.30.700-47.30.915;(B) of the length of time for which the respondent is committed and findings of fact made by the court; and(C) when the respondent is discharged from commitment; and(2) a victim in the dismissed criminal case may attend a hearing under AS 47.30.700 - 47.30.915, but may not disclose confidential information from the hearing.(h) Subsection (g) of this section may not be construed to give a victim in a dismissed criminal case the right to access a record that is confidential under AS 47.30.845.Amended by SLA 2024, ch. 11,sec. 52, eff. 1/1/2025.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.