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(“Review Judge”), assigned to any Division of the Court, as may be determined by the
President Judge from time to time.
(2) Scheduling of Hearing and Service. A hearing must be scheduled and held within 72 hours
after the Petition is filed unless a continuance is requested by the person’s counsel. The party
filing the Petition for Review must forthwith serve a copy of the Petition and Notice of Hearing
on the Mental Health Review Officer and all other interested parties. Service may be
effectuated by hand-delivery or via facsimile.
(3) Preparation of Record for the Court. The Mental Health Review Officer shall produce the
record of the proceedings held by the Mental Health Review Officer to the Review Judge no
later than the hearing date, and shall ensure that the evidence relied upon by the Mental Health
Review Officer is available to the Review Judge.
(4) Hearing. The Review Judge shall review the certification of the Mental Health Review
Officer and shall consider such other evidence as the Review Judge may receive or require.
(5) Decision. The Review Judge shall render a decision as soon as practicable, and, unless all
parties agree to a remand to the Mental Health Review Office, shall either:
(A) determine that the person is in need of involuntary treatment and that the procedures
prescribed by the Mental Health Procedures Act have been followed; or
(B) determine that the procedures prescribed by the Mental Health Procedures Act have
not been followed, or that the person is not in need of involuntary treatment, and, if
appropriate, shall direct that the facility director or his designee discharge the person. The
decision of the Review Judge as set fourth above is subject to appellate review as provided
by rules of court.
(j) Record of Proceedings. Record of the proceedings (which need not be in a stenographic format)
held pursuant to the Mental Health Procedures Act shall be made, impounded by the Court as
provided in the Act, and kept by the Office of Judicial Records for at least one year.
(k) Appointment of Counsel. The President Judge, or his designee, shall appoint counsel to
represent all persons who may be subject to involuntary medical examination and treatment, unless
it appears that any such person can afford, and desires to have, private representation.
Explanatory Note: The Mental Health Procedures Act, as enacted on July 9, 1976, authorized the local courts to
decide whether a judge of the Court of Common Pleas or a “Mental Health Review Officer” would conduct legal
proceedings under the Act. Section 109 specifically provided that a Mental Health Review Officer could, if au-
thorized by the Court, conduct proceedings under Section 303(c), which dealt with extended involuntary
emergency treatment, and under Section 304, which dealt with court-ordered involuntary treatment. However, the
Act did not specifically address the issue of whether the Mental Health Review Officer could issue orders for
treatment or whether such orders were deemed to be final orders which were subject to appellate review.
In the case of In re Chambers, 282 Pa. Super. 327, 422 A.2d 1140 (1980), the Superior Court addressed the
difference between “certifications” issued pursuant to Section 303 and “orders” issued pursuant to Section 304.
The Superior Court found that Section 303 specifically authorized the Mental Health Review Officer to certify,
without judicial approval, a person for extended involuntary emergency treatment for a period not to exceed 20
days, noting that under Section 303 the person made subject to such involuntary emergency treatment had the
right to petition the Court of Common Pleas for review of the certification. However, the Superior Court found
that the procedure for Section 304 proceedings was different, in that Section 304 required the entry of an “order”
involuntarily committing a person, and since the Mental Health Review Officer is not a judge, the Mental Health
Review Officer cannot enter a “final order” which is appealable to the Superior Court. Thus, the Superior Court
concluded that a commitment “order” issued pursuant to Section 304 by a Mental Health Review Officer on
August 28, 1978 was not a “final order” and accordingly, not ripe for appellate review, and remanded to the Court