HOUSE BILL 499
50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011
INTRODUCED BY
Dennis J. Kintigh
AN ACT
RELATING TO CIVIL COMMITMENT; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CODE TO PROVIDE FOR CIVIL COMMITMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MENTALLY ILL AND DANGEROUS TO OTHERS; RECONCILING MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAW IN LAWS 2007.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 43-1-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 279, Section 2, as amended by Laws 2007, Chapter 46, Section 42 and by Laws 2007, Chapter 325, Section 9) is amended to read:
"43-1-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code:
A. "aversive stimuli" means anything that, because it is believed to be unreasonably unpleasant, uncomfortable or distasteful to the client, is administered or done to the client for the purpose of reducing the frequency of a behavior, but does not include verbal therapies, physical restrictions to prevent imminent harm to self or others or psychotropic medications that are not used for purposes of punishment;
B. "client" means any patient who is requesting or receiving mental health services or any person requesting or receiving developmental disabilities services or who is present in a mental health or developmental disabilities facility for the purpose of receiving such services or who has been placed in a mental health or developmental disabilities facility by the person's parent or guardian or by any court order;
C. "code" means the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code;
D. "consistent with the least drastic means principle" means that the habilitation or treatment and the conditions of habilitation or treatment for the client, separately and in combination:
(1) are no more harsh, hazardous or intrusive than necessary to achieve acceptable treatment objectives for the client;
(2) involve no restrictions on physical movement and no requirement for residential care except as reasonably necessary for the administration of treatment or for the protection of the client or others from physical injury; and
(3) are conducted at the suitable available facility closest to the client's place of residence;
E. "convulsive treatment" means any form of mental health treatment that depends upon creation of a convulsion by any means, including but not limited to electroconvulsive treatment and insulin coma treatment;
F. "court" means a district court of New Mexico;
G. "department" or "division" means the behavioral health services division of the human services department;
H. "developmental disability" means a disability of a person that is attributable to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism or neurological dysfunction that requires treatment or habilitation similar to that provided to persons with mental retardation;
I. "evaluation facility" means a community mental health or developmental disability program or a medical facility that has psychiatric or developmental disability services available, including the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas, the Los Lunas medical center or, if none of the foregoing is reasonably available or appropriate, the office of a licensed physician or a certified psychologist, and that is capable of performing a mental status examination adequate to determine the need for involuntary treatment;
J. "experimental treatment" means any mental health or developmental disabilities treatment that presents significant risk of physical harm, but does not include accepted treatment used in competent practice of medicine and psychology and supported by scientifically acceptable studies;
K. "grave passive neglect" means failure to provide for basic personal or medical needs or for one's own safety to such an extent that it is more likely than not that serious bodily harm will result in the near future;
L. "habilitation" means the process by which professional persons and their staff assist a client with a developmental disability in acquiring and maintaining those skills and behaviors that enable the person to cope more effectively with the demands of the person's self and environment and to raise the level of the person's physical, mental and social efficiency. "Habilitation" includes but is not limited to programs of formal, structured education and treatment;
M. "likelihood of serious harm to oneself" means that it is more likely than not that in the near future the person will attempt to commit suicide or will cause serious bodily harm to the person's self by violent or other self-destructive means, including but not limited to grave passive neglect;
N. "likelihood of serious harm to others" means that it is more likely than not that in the near future a person will inflict serious, unjustified bodily harm on another person or commit a criminal sexual offense, as evidenced by behavior causing, attempting or threatening such harm, which behavior gives rise to a reasonable fear of such harm from the person;
O. "mental disability" means substantial disorder of a person's emotional processes, thought or cognition that grossly impairs judgment, behavior or capacity to recognize reality, but does not mean developmental disability;
P. "mental health or developmental disabilities professional" means a physician or other professional who by training or experience is qualified to work with persons with a mental disability or a developmental disability;
Q. "physician" or "certified psychologist", when used for the purpose of hospital admittance or discharge, means a physician or certified psychologist who has been granted admitting privileges at a hospital licensed by the department of health, if such privileges are required;
R. "psychosurgery":
(1) means those operations currently referred to as lobotomy, psychiatric surgery and behavioral surgery and all other forms of brain surgery if the surgery is performed for the purpose of the following:
(a) modification or control of thoughts, feelings, actions or behavior rather than the treatment of a known and diagnosed physical disease of the brain;
(b) treatment of abnormal brain function or normal brain tissue in order to control thoughts, feelings, actions or behavior; or
(c) treatment of abnormal brain function or abnormal brain tissue in order to modify thoughts, feelings, actions or behavior when the abnormality is not an established cause for those thoughts, feelings, actions or behavior; and
(2) does not include prefrontal sonic treatment in which there is no destruction of brain tissue;
S. "residential treatment or habilitation program" means diagnosis, evaluation, care, treatment or habilitation rendered inside or on the premises of a mental health or developmental disabilities facility, hospital, clinic, institution or supervisory residence or nursing home when the client resides on the premises; [and]
T. "secure treatment facility" means a facility, institution or agency licensed, certified or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to provide mental health treatment in the ordinary course of business that is operated or structured so as to ensure that all entrances and exits from the facility are under the exclusive control of the staff of the facility, whether or not the person being detained has freedom of movement within the perimeters of the facility, or that relies on locked rooms and buildings, fences or physical restraint in order to control behavior of its residents; "secure treatment facility" does not include a jail, prison or other place primarily used as a place where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment in a criminal matter; and
[T.] U. "treatment" means any effort to accomplish a significant change in the mental or emotional condition or behavior of the client."
SECTION 2. A new Section 43-1-26 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:
"43-1-26. [NEW MATERIAL] PROCEDURE FOR CIVIL COMMITMENT--PERSONS FOUND TO BE MENTALLY ILL--PERSONS FOUND TO BE DANGEROUS TO OTHERS--COMMITMENT TO SECURE TREATMENT FACILITY--TRANSFER--PROVISIONAL DISCHARGE--DISCHARGE--REVOCATION OF STATUS--SPECIAL REVIEW BOARD.--
A. Upon filing a petition alleging that a proposed client is a person who is mentally ill and a danger to others, the court shall hear the petition as provided in Section 43-1-11 NMSA 1978. After an evidentiary hearing on the matter pursuant to Section 43-1-11 NMSA 1978, if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed client is a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others, it shall commit the proposed client to a secure treatment facility unless that client establishes by clear and convincing evidence that a less restrictive treatment program is available that is consistent with the client's treatment needs and the requirements of public safety. If the petition was filed immediately following the acquittal of the proposed client for a crime against the person pursuant to a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, the verdict shall constitute evidence that the proposed client is a person who is mentally ill and dangerous within the meaning of this section. The proposed client shall have the burden of presenting evidence in accordance with a clear and convincing standard of proof. Upon commitment, admission procedures shall be carried out pursuant to the provisions of Section 43-1-22 NMSA 1978.
B. Once a client is admitted to a secure treatment facility or an evaluation facility pursuant to a commitment under this section, the client's treatment shall begin regardless of whether a review hearing will be held under Subsection C of this section.
C. A secure treatment facility shall file a written treatment report with the committing court within sixty days after a client has been committed pursuant to Subsection A of this section as a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others. If the client is in the custody of the secretary of corrections when initial commitment is ordered pursuant to Subsection A of this section, the secure treatment facility shall file the written treatment report within sixty days after the client is admitted to the secure treatment facility. The committing court shall hold a hearing to make a final determination as to whether the client shall remain committed as a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others within the earlier of fourteen days of the court's receipt of the written treatment report or ninety days of the date of initial commitment or admission, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. With the agreement of the district attorney or counsel for the department of health and the client's attorney, the court may:
(1) waive the review hearing under this subsection and immediately order an indeterminate commitment pursuant to Subsection E of this section; or
(2) continue the review hearing for a maximum of one year.
D. If a court finds that a client should be committed as a person who is mentally ill, but not as a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others, the court may, after a full and fair hearing on the matter, commit the client as a person who is mentally ill to a treatment facility that is not a secure treatment facility. The client shall be deemed not to have been found to be dangerous to others for the purposes of Subsections F through T of this section. If the client is in the custody of the secretary of corrections when initial commitment is ordered pursuant to Subsection A of this section, the treatment facility shall file the written treatment report within sixty days after the client is admitted to the treatment facility. The committing court shall hold a hearing to make a final determination as to whether the client shall remain committed as a person who is mentally ill within the earlier of fourteen days of the court's receipt of the written treatment report or ninety days of the date of initial commitment or admission, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. With the agreement of the district attorney or counsel for the department of health and the client's attorney, the court may:
(1) waive the review hearing under this subsection and immediately order an indeterminate commitment pursuant to Subsection E of this section; or
(2) continue the review hearing for a maximum of one year.
E. If a court finds that during the final determination hearing held pursuant to Subsection D of this section a proposed client continues to be a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others, the court shall order the proposed client to be committed for an indeterminate period of time. After a final determination that a proposed client is a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others, the client shall be transferred, provisionally discharged or discharged only as provided pursuant to the provisions of this section.
F. A client who has been committed as a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others and who is confined at a secure treatment facility or who has been transferred from a state-operated treatment facility according to Subsection N of this section shall not be released on a pass unless that pass is part of a pass plan that the medical director of the secure treatment facility has approved. The pass plan shall have a specific therapeutic purpose consistent with the client's treatment plan, be established for a specific period of time and have specific levels of liberty delineated. The client's case manager shall be invited to participate in the development of the pass plan. At least ten days prior to a determination on the pass plan, the medical director shall notify the division, the committing court, the district attorney or the counsel for the department of health, any interested person, the local law enforcement agency in the location where the pass plan is to be carried out, the petitioner and the petitioner's counsel regarding the plan, the nature of the passes proposed and each of these person's right to present grounds for opposing the pass plan. The pass plan shall not be implemented until each of these persons has been allowed an opportunity to object. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to provide a client with an affirmative right to a pass plan.
G. The following clients who have been committed to a secure treatment facility as persons who are mentally ill and dangerous to others shall not be eligible for a pass unless the medical director has approved that client's eligibility:
(1) a client whom a court has found to be incompetent to proceed to trial for a felony or was found not guilty by reason of mental illness of a felony after a full and fair evidentiary hearing on the matter prior to the filing of the client's commitment petition;
(2) a client who was convicted of a felony immediately prior to or during commitment as a person who is mentally ill and dangerous to others;
(3) a client who is subject to commitment by the corrections department; or
(4) a client who has been committed as a psychopathic personality, a sexually psychopathic personality or a sexually dangerous person.
H. At least ten days before a determination on a client's eligibility for a pass plan, the medical director of a secure treatment facility shall notify the committing court, the district attorney or the counsel for the department of health, the division, any interested person, the client and the client's counsel of the proposed eligibility for a pass plan and shall notify each of these person's right to request review by the special review board. If, within ten days of receiving notice, a notified person requests review by filing a notice of objection with the secretary of health and the administrative head of the secure treatment facility, a hearing shall be held before the special review board. The client shall not be eligible for a pass plan unless the client's pass plan eligibility receives a favorable recommendation by a majority of the special review board and approval by the secretary of health. The order of the secretary of health is appealable pursuant to Section 43-1-27 NMSA 1978.
I. The secretary of health shall establish one or more panels of a special review board. The board shall consist of three members experienced in the field of behavioral health. One member of each special review board panel shall be a psychiatrist and one member shall be an attorney at law. No member shall be affiliated with the department of health. The special review board shall meet at least once every six months and at the call of the secretary of health. It shall hear and consider all petitions for a reduction in custody or to appeal a revocation of provisional discharge. The department of health may transfer a client between secure treatment facilities without a special review board hearing. Members of the special review board may receive compensation and reimbursement for expenses as the secretary of health determines.
J. A petition for a reduction in custody or revocation of provisional discharge shall be filed with the secretary of health. It may be filed by a client or by the administrative head of the secure treatment facility. A client shall not petition the special review board for six months following indeterminate commitment pursuant to Subsection E of this section or following the final disposition of any previous and subsequent appeal by the client. The medical director of a secure treatment facility may file a petition for a reduction in custody or revocation of provisional discharge at any time. Fourteen days before the hearing on a petition filed pursuant to this subsection, the committing court, the district attorney or the counsel for the department of health, the division, interested persons, the petitioner and the petitioner's counsel shall be given written notice from the secretary of health of the time and place of the hearing before the special review board. Only those entitled to statutory notice of the hearing or those administratively required to attend may be present at the hearing. The client may designate interested persons to receive notice by providing their names and addresses to the secretary of health at least twenty-one days before the hearing. Within twenty-one days after the hearing, the special review board shall provide the secretary of health with written findings of fact and recommendations. The secretary of health shall issue an order on the matter no later than fourteen days after the secretary receives the recommendations of the special review board. A copy of the order shall be mailed to every person entitled to statutory notice of the hearing within five days after it is signed. No order by the secretary of health shall be effective sooner than thirty days after the order is issued, unless the district attorney of the county of commitment, the client and the secretary of health agree that it may become effective sooner.
K. The special review board shall hold a hearing on each petition prior to making its recommendation to the secretary of health. Any person or agency receiving notice that submits documentary evidence to the special review board prior to the hearing shall also provide copies to the client, the client's counsel, the district attorney of the county of commitment, the client's case manager and the secretary of health. Before the secretary of health renders a final decision, the special review board may be reconvened to consider events or circumstances that occurred after the hearing. In making their recommendations and orders, the special review board and the secretary of health shall consider any statements received from victims pursuant to Subsection L of this section.
L. A district attorney or the counsel for the department of health who files a petition to commit a potential client pursuant to this section shall make a reasonable effort to provide prompt notice of the filing of the petition to any victim of a crime for which the potential client was convicted. In addition, the district attorney or the counsel for the department of health shall make a reasonable effort to promptly notify the victim of the resolution of the matter that is the subject of the petition.
M. Before provisionally discharging, discharging, granting pass-eligible status, approving a pass plan or otherwise permanently or temporarily releasing a client committed pursuant to this section from a secure treatment facility, the administrative head of the secure treatment facility shall make a reasonable effort to notify any victim of a crime for which the client was convicted that the client may be discharged or released and that the victim has a right to submit a written statement regarding the decisions of the medical director of the secure treatment facility, the special review board or the secretary of health in that matter. Whenever practicable, the notice shall be provided at least fourteen days before any special review board hearing or before a determination on a pass plan. The secretary of health shall provide the judicial appeal panel with victim information in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection. The judicial appeal panel shall ensure that the data on victims remain private if the victim has requested this by contacting in writing the district attorney in the county where the conviction for the crime occurred. A district attorney who receives a request for notification pursuant to this subsection shall promptly forward the request to the department of health and, if known, to the client's secure treatment facility. A victim's rights pursuant to this subsection are in addition to the victim's rights pursuant to Section 31-26-4 NMSA 1978.
N. A client who is mentally ill and dangerous to others shall not be transferred out of a secure treatment facility unless it appears to the satisfaction of the secretary of health, after a hearing and favorable recommendation by a majority of the special review board, that the transfer is appropriate. Transfer may be made to a secure treatment center under the secretary of health's control. If a client also has a commitment to the corrections department, the client may be transferred to a facility that the secretary of corrections designates. The following factors shall be considered in determining whether a transfer is appropriate:
(1) the client's clinical progress and present treatment needs;
(2) the need for security to accomplish continuing treatment;
(3) the need for continued institutionalization;
(4) the facilities from which a selection may be made to best meet the client's and the state's needs; and
(5) whether the transfer can be accomplished while reasonably accomplishing the public's safety needs.
O. The division shall develop, implement and monitor a provisional discharge plan with the client, the secure treatment facility and other appropriate persons. At least once per calendar quarter, the division shall review the plan with the client, and the agency shall submit a written report of the plan to the secretary of health and the secure treatment facility regarding the client's status and compliance with each term of the plan.
P. A provisional discharge shall not automatically terminate. A full discharge shall occur only as provided in Subsection V of this section. The secretary of health shall notify the client that the terms of a provisional discharge shall continue unless the client requests and is granted a change in the conditions of provisional discharge, or unless the client petitions the special review board for a full discharge and the discharge is granted.
Q. The administrative head of a secure treatment facility may revoke a provisional discharge if any of the following grounds exists:
(1) the client has departed from the conditions of the provisional discharge plan;
(2) the client exhibits signs of a mental illness that may require in-hospital evaluation or treatment; or
(3) the client exhibits behavior that may be dangerous to the client or to others.
R. The revocation of a provisional discharge shall be commenced by a notice of intent to revoke provisional discharge, which shall be served upon the client, the client's counsel and the division. The notice shall set forth the grounds upon which the intention to revoke is based and shall inform the client of the client's rights pursuant to the provisions of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. Prior to revoking a provisional discharge in a nonemergency situation, the administrative head of a secure treatment facility shall obtain a report from the division outlining the specific reasons for recommending the revocation, including the specific facts upon which the revocation recommendation is based. In an emergency situation, the administrative head of the treatment facility may revoke the provisional discharge and, either orally or in writing, order that the client be immediately returned to the secure treatment facility. In cases of an emergency revocation of a provisional discharge, the division shall submit a report documenting reasons for revocation to the administrative head of the secure treatment facility within seven days after the client's return to the secure treatment facility. In any case of revocation of a provisional discharge, a client shall be provided with a copy of the revocation report and informed both orally and in writing of the client's rights pursuant to the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
S. After the revocation of a provisional discharge, or when a client is absent without authorization, the administrative head of a secure treatment facility may request that the client return voluntarily to the secure treatment facility. The administrative head of the secure treatment facility may request that a health officer, a welfare officer or a peace officer return the client to the facility. If a voluntary return is not arranged, the administrative head of the secure treatment facility shall inform the committing court of the revocation or absence. The committing court shall direct a health or peace officer in the county where the client's secure treatment facility is located to return the client to the client's secure treatment facility or to another secure treatment facility. The expense of returning the client to a state-owned secure treatment facility shall be paid by the secretary of health unless the client or another person pays on the client's behalf.
T. A client aggrieved by a revocation decision or any interested person may petition the special review board within seven days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after receipt of the revocation report for a review of the revocation. The matter shall be scheduled within thirty days. The special review board shall review the circumstances leading to the revocation and shall recommend to the secretary of health whether or not the revocation shall be upheld. The special review board may also recommend a new provisional discharge at the time of a hearing on revocation.
U. With the consent of the administrative head of the secure treatment facility, a client may voluntarily return from a provisional discharge for a period not to exceed thirty days, or, with the division's consent, a period not to exceed sixty days. Within fifteen days after having received notice of the change in status, the client may request a review of the matter before the special review board. The board may recommend a return to a provisional discharge status. A secure treatment facility is not required to petition for a further review by the special review board unless the client's return to the community results in a substantive change to the existing provisional discharge plan. All of the terms and conditions of the provisional discharge order shall remain unchanged if the client is released again.
V. A client who is mentally ill and dangerous to others shall not be discharged unless it appears to the satisfaction of the secretary of health, after a hearing and a favorable recommendation by a majority of the members of the special review board, that the client is capable of making an acceptable adjustment to open society, is no longer dangerous to others and is no longer in need of inpatient treatment and supervision. In determining whether a discharge shall be recommended, the special review board and the secretary of health shall consider whether specific conditions exist to provide a reasonable degree of protection to the public and to assist the client in adjusting to the community. If the desired conditions do not exist, the discharge shall not be granted."
SECTION 3. A new Section 43-1-27 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:
"43-1-27. [NEW MATERIAL] JUDICIAL APPEALS--JUDICIAL APPEAL PANEL--PATIENTS WHO ARE MENTALLY ILL AND DANGEROUS TO OTHERS.--
A. The supreme court shall establish a judicial appeal panel composed of three judges and four alternate judges appointed from among the acting state judges. Judicial appeal panel members shall serve for terms of one year each. Only three judges shall hear a case. The supreme court shall designate one of the regular three appointed judges as chief judge of the judicial appeal panel. The chief judge shall be vested with power to fix the time and place of all hearings before the judicial appeal panel, issue all notices, subpoena witnesses, appoint counsel for the patient, if necessary, and supervise and direct the operation of the judicial appeal panel. The chief judge shall designate one of the other judges or an alternate judge to act as chief judge in any case where the chief judge is unable to act. A member of the judicial appeal panel shall not take part in the consideration of any case in which that judge has previously ordered the client's commitment.
B. A client committed as mentally ill and dangerous to others pursuant to Section 43-1-26 NMSA 1978, or the district attorney from which county the person was committed or the county having financial responsibility for the commitment, may petition the judicial appeal panel for rehearing and reconsideration of a decision by the secretary of health pursuant to Subsection J of Section 43-1-26 NMSA 1978. The judicial appeal panel shall not consider petitions for relief other than those appealed from a decision that the secretary of health has made. The petition for review by the judicial appeal panel shall be filed with the supreme court within thirty days after the date the secretary of health signs an order pursuant to Subsection J of Section 43-1-26 NMSA 1978. The hearing shall be held within one hundred eighty days of the filing of the petition unless an extension is granted for good cause.
C. The supreme court shall refer an appeal pursuant to Subsection A or B of this section to the chief judge of the judicial appeal panel. The chief judge shall notify the client, the client's counsel, the district attorney of the county of commitment, the division, the secretary of health, the administrative head of the secure treatment facility, interested persons and other persons that the chief judge designates of the time and place of the hearing on the petition. The chief judge shall provide the notice at least fourteen days before the hearing date.
D. Any person may oppose a petition filed pursuant to Subsection B of this section. Unless the client is committed solely as mentally ill and dangerous to others, the client, the client's counsel, the district attorney of the county in which commitment is occurring or of the county having financial responsibility for the commitment and the secretary of health shall participate as parties to the proceeding pending before the judicial appeal panel. No later than twenty days before the hearing on the petition, the client, the client's counsel, the district attorney of the county in which commitment is occurring or of the county having financial responsibility for the commitment and the secretary of health shall inform the judicial appeal panel and the opposing party in writing whether they support or oppose the petition and provide a summary of facts in support of their positions. The judicial appeal panel may appoint examiners and may adjourn the hearing from time to time. The judicial appeal panel shall hear and receive all relevant testimony and evidence and make a record of all proceedings. The client, the client's counsel and the district attorney of the county in which commitment is occurring or of the county having financial responsibility for the commitment have the right to be present and may present and cross-examine all witnesses and offer a factual and legal basis in support of their positions. The party petitioning for discharge or provisional discharge shall bear the burden of going forward with the evidence, presenting a prima facie case with competent evidence to show that the person is entitled to the requested relief. If the petitioning party has met this burden, the party opposing discharge or provisional discharge bears the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence that the discharge or provisional discharge should be denied. A party seeking transfer pursuant to Subsection N or R of Section 43-1-26 NMSA 1978 shall establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the transfer is appropriate.
E. A majority of the members of the judicial appeal panel shall rule upon a petition on appeal pursuant to this section. The judicial appeal panel shall consider the petition de novo. The order of the judicial appeal panel shall supersede an order of the secretary of health pursuant to a decision the secretary has rendered pursuant to Section 43-1-26 NMSA 1978. An order of the judicial appeal panel granting a transfer, discharge or provisional discharge shall be made effective no sooner than fifteen days after its issuance. The judicial appeal panel shall not consider petitions for relief other than those considered by the secretary of health or the special review board from which the appeal is made. The judicial appeal panel shall not grant a transfer or provisional discharge on terms or conditions that were not presented to the secretary of health or the special review board.
F. The filing of a petition shall immediately suspend the operation of an order for transfer, discharge or provisional discharge of the client. The client shall not be discharged in any manner except upon order of a majority of the judicial appeal panel.
G. A party aggrieved by an order of the judicial appeal panel may appeal from the decision of the judicial appeal panel to the court of appeals. A party may seek review of a decision by the judicial appeal panel within sixty days after a copy is sent to the parties by the clerk of appellate courts. The filing of an appeal shall immediately suspend the operation of any order granting transfer, discharge or provisional discharge, pending the determination of the appeal."
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