Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-580 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 17-257a). Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026

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As used in sections 17a-581 to 17a-603, inclusive, and this section:

(1) “Acquittee” means any person found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13;

(2) “Board” means the Psychiatric Security Review Board established pursuant to section 17a-581;

(3) “Conditional release” means release of the acquittee from a hospital for psychiatric disabilities to the jurisdiction of the board for supervision and treatment and includes, but is not limited to, the monitoring of mental and physical health treatment;

(4) “Court” means the Superior Court;

(5) “Danger to himself or others” includes danger to the property of others;

(6) “Hospital for psychiatric disabilities” means any public or private hospital, retreat, institution, house or place in which a person with psychiatric disabilities or drug-dependent person is received or detained as a patient, but does not include any correctional institution of the state;

(7) “Psychiatric disability” includes any mental illness in a state of remission when the illness may, with reasonable medical probability, become active. “Psychiatric disability” does not include an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct;

(8) “Intellectual disability” has the same meaning as provided in section 1-1g;

(9) “Person who should be conditionally released” means an acquittee who has psychiatric disabilities or has intellectual disability to the extent that his final discharge would constitute a danger to himself or others but who can be adequately controlled with available supervision and treatment on conditional release;

(10) “Person who should be confined” means an acquittee who has psychiatric disabilities or has intellectual disability to the extent that such acquittee's discharge or conditional release would constitute a danger to the acquittee or others and who cannot be adequately controlled with available supervision and treatment on conditional release;

(11) “Person who should be discharged” means an acquittee who does not have psychiatric disabilities or does not have intellectual disability to the extent that such acquittee's discharge would constitute a danger to the acquittee or others;

(12) “Psychiatrist” means a physician specializing in psychiatry and licensed under the provisions of sections 20-9 to 20-12, inclusive;

(13) “Psychologist” means a clinical psychologist licensed under the provisions of sections 20-186 to 20-195, inclusive;

(14) “State's attorney” means the state's attorney for the judicial district wherein the acquittee was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13; and

(15) “Superintendent” means any person, body of persons or corporation, or the designee of any such person, body of persons or corporation, which has the immediate supervision, management and control of a hospital for psychiatric disabilities and the patients therein.

(P.A. 85-506, S. 1, 32; P.A. 87-486, S. 1; P.A. 95-257, S. 48, 58; P.A. 11-129, S. 6; P.A. 15-211, S. 14.)

History: P.A. 87-486 added definition of “mental retardation” and included an acquittee who is mentally retarded within definitions of “person who should be conditionally released”, “person who should be confined” and “person who should be discharged”; Sec. 17-257a transferred to Sec. 17a-580 in 1991; P.A. 95-257 replaced variants of “mentally ill” with variants of “psychiatric disabilities”, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 11-129 amended Subdivs. (8) to (11) to replace “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” with “intellectual disability” and make conforming changes; P.A. 15-211 substituted “17a-603” for “17a-602” in introductory language, redefined “conditional release” in Subdiv. (3), substituted “hospital for psychiatric disabilities” for “hospital for mental illness” in Subdiv. (6), substituted “psychiatric disability” for “mental illness” and defined the term in Subdiv. (7), substituted “psychiatric disabilities” for “mental illness” in Subdiv. (15), and made a technical change, effective June 30, 2015.

Annotations to former section 17-257a:

Cited. 211 C. 591.

Cited. 20 CA 96.

Annotations to present section:

Cited. 219 C. 314; 230 C. 400.

Cited. 41 CA 221; 43 CA 592.

Subdiv. (7):

Whether definition of mental illness is met turns on satisfaction of substantive definitional requirements and not the use of exact statutory terminology by expert witness or court. 148 CA 137.

Subdiv. (11):

Meaning of “psychiatric disabilities” within definition is not governed by standard in either Sec. 17a-495(c) or 17a-458(a) and trial court applied the correct standard, found in governing regulations, in its interpretation of the term; determination of whether person is a danger to himself or others is a question of fact and is to be reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. 265 C. 697.

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Notes of Decisions

Cited in 28 cases (10 in the last 5 years), 1991–2026 · leading case: State v. March, 830 A.2d 212 (Conn. 2003).

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State v. March, 830 A.2d 212 (Conn. 2003). · cites it 26× “and dangerousness as set forth in General Statutes § 17a-495 4 in determining whether the defendant was a person with “psychiatric disabilities” who posed “a danger to herself or others”; (2) found *700 that the defendant was, in fact, a danger to herself or others such that she…”

State v. Kalman, 868 A.2d 766 (Conn. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 20× “8 I We will address first the acquittee’s claim that the court denied him due process of law by failing to apply the civil commitment standard regarding mental illness and psychiatric disability when it committed him to the jurisdiction of the board pursuant to General Statutes…”

State v. Jacob, 798 A.2d 974 (Conn. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 13× “” General Statutes § 17a-580 (11). 6 “ ‘Danger to himself or others’ includes danger to the property of others.”

State v. Vasquez, 194 Conn. App. 831 (Conn. App. Ct. 2019). · cites it 14× “is application for discharge because the diagnoses attrib- uted to him—cannabis induced psychotic episode, an acute intoxication now in full remission; cannabis use disorder in remission in a controlled environment; and alcohol use disorder in remission in a controlled envi-…”

State v. Warren, 919 A.2d 465 (Conn. App. Ct. 2007). · cites it 10× “General Statutes § 17a-593 (c) provides: “If reasonable cause exists to believe that the acquittee remains a person with psychiatric disabilities or mentally retarded to the extent that his discharge at the expiration of his maximum term of commitment would *413 constitute a…”

State v. Long, 847 A.2d 862 (Conn. 2004). · cites it 4× “Prior to beginning our due process analysis, we briefly review the statutory commitment scheme for acquittees, as set forth in General Statutes §§ 17a-580 through 17a-603.”

State v. Metz, 645 A.2d 965 (Conn. 1994). · cites it 4× “Because the defendant was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to General Statutes § 53a-13 in the underlying criminal proceedings, he is an “acquittee” as that term is defined by General Statutes § 17a-580 (1). 3 Although the Probate Court ordinarily…”

Sastrom v. Psychiatric Sec. Review Bd., 968 A.2d 396 (Conn. 2009). · cites it 4× “In this case, the plaintiffs have not identified, and we do not find, any legislation, either in the board’s enabling act, General Statutes § 17a-580 et seq., or elsewhere in the General Statutes, that confers standing on the plaintiffs.”

State v. Dyous, 198 Conn. App. 253 (Conn. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 6× “) Inherent in these statements is a recognition by the members of the board of the applicable statutes; see General Statutes §§ 17a-580 (7) and 17a-593 (c); regula- tions; see Regs.”

State v. Corr, 867 A.2d 124 (Conn. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 6× “General Statutes § 17a-593 (g). The term ‘[p]erson who should be discharged’ is defined as ‘an acquittee who does not have psychiatric disabilities .”

Kilduff v. Adams, Inc., 593 A.2d 478 (Conn. 1991). · cites it 2× “) Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; see also General Statutes §§ 17a-580 (12) and 52-146d (7).”

State v. Webber, 225 Conn. App. 16 (Conn. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 9× “Third, the definition of ‘‘hospital for psychiatric disabili- ties’’ under General Statutes § 17a-580 (6) explicitly excludes ‘‘any correc- tional institution of the state .”

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