Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 632.489 (2026)

Probable cause determined

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MO-REVrevisor.mo.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

632.489. Probable cause determined — sexually violent predator taken into custody, when — hearing, procedure — examination by department of mental health. — 1. Upon filing a petition pursuant to section 632.484 or 632.486, the judge shall determine whether probable cause exists to believe that the person named in the petition is a sexually violent predator. If such probable cause determination is made, the judge shall direct that person be taken into custody and direct that the person be transferred to an appropriate secure facility, including, but not limited to, a county jail. If the person is ordered to the department of mental health, the director of the department of mental health shall determine the appropriate secure facility to house the person under the provisions of section 632.495.

2. Within seventy-two hours after a person is taken into custody pursuant to subsection 1 of this section, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, such person shall be provided with notice of, and an opportunity to appear in person at, a hearing to contest probable cause as to whether the detained person is a sexually violent predator. At this hearing the court shall:

(1) Verify the detainee's identity; and

(2) Determine whether probable cause exists to believe that the person is a sexually violent predator. The state may rely upon the petition and supplement the petition with additional documentary evidence or live testimony.

3. At the probable cause hearing as provided in subsection 2 of this section, the detained person shall have the following rights in addition to the rights previously specified:

(1) To be represented by counsel;

(2) To present evidence on such person's behalf;

(3) To cross-examine witnesses who testify against such person; and

(4) To view and copy all petitions and reports in the court file, including the assessment of the multidisciplinary team.

4. If the probable cause determination is made, the court shall direct that the person be transferred to an appropriate secure facility, including, but not limited to, a county jail, for an evaluation as to whether the person is a sexually violent predator. If the person is ordered to the department of mental health, the director of the department of mental health shall determine the appropriate secure facility, which may include a county jail as set forth in section 632.495, to house the person. The court shall direct the director of the department of mental health to have the person examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist as defined in section 632.005 who was not a member of the multidisciplinary team that previously reviewed the person's records. In addition, such person may be examined by a consenting psychiatrist or psychologist of the person's choice at the person's own expense. Any examination shall be conducted in the facility in which the person is confined. Any examinations ordered shall be made at such time and under such conditions as the court deems proper; except that, if the order directs the director of the department of mental health to have the person examined, the director shall determine the time, place and conditions under which the examination shall be conducted. The psychiatrist or psychologist conducting such an examination shall be authorized to interview family and associates of the person being examined, as well as victims and witnesses of the person's offense or offenses, for use in the examination unless the court for good cause orders otherwise. The psychiatrist or psychologist shall have access to all materials provided to and considered by the multidisciplinary team and to any police reports related to sexual offenses committed by the person being examined. Any examination performed pursuant to this section shall be completed and filed with the court within sixty days of the date the order is received by the director or other evaluator unless the court for good cause orders otherwise. One examination shall be provided at no charge by the department. All costs of any subsequent evaluations shall be assessed to the party requesting the evaluation.

--------

(L. 1998 H.B. 1405, et al. § 4, A.L. 1999 H.B. 852, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1698, et al., A.L. 2009 H.B. 826 merged with S.B. 435)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 28 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2001–2021 · leading case: Grado v. State, 559 S.W.3d 888 (Mo. 2018).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Grado v. State, 559 S.W.3d 888 (Mo. 2018). · cites it 4× “Grado argues he has a due process right to effective assistance of counsel in his SVP proceeding because his commitment as an SVP implicates his fundamental liberty interest.”

Care & Treatment of Elliott v. State, 215 S.W.3d 88 (Mo. 2007). · cites it 4× “If the trial is held before a jury, the judge shall instruct the jury that if it finds that the person is a sexually violent predator, the person shall be committed to the custody of the director of the department of mental health for control, care and treatment.”

In Re the Care & Treatment of Norton, 123 S.W.3d 170 (Mo. 2004). · cites it 4× “Additionally, section 632.489 allows for detained persons to be examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist of their own choosing in addition to the professional evaluation mandated by the DMH.”

State Ex Rel. Nixon v. Kinder, 129 S.W.3d 5 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 5× “Respondent conducted a probable cause hearing as provided by section 632.489, RSMo 2000, and found that probable cause exists to believe that Mr.”

State ex rel. State v. Parkinson, 280 S.W.3d 70 (Mo. 2009). · cites it 4× “Under section 632.489, upon the filing of the petition “the judge shall determine whether probable cause exists to believe that the person named in the petition is a sexually violent predator.”

In Re the Care & Treatment of Van Orden, 271 S.W.3d 579 (Mo. 2008). · cites it 4× “Section 632.489. If the probable cause determination is made, the court orders a psychiatric evaluation and holds a trial sixty days after the evaluation.”

Care & Treatment of Barlow v. State, 250 S.W.3d 725 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “Section 632.489. Within sixty days after such determination is made, the court is directed to conduct a trial to determine whether the person actually is an SVP, according to section 632.”

Care & Treatment of Burgess v. State, 72 S.W.3d 180 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “Moreover, effective August 1999, the legislature mandated that the state public defender director provide legal services to any eligible person “[w]ho has been taken into custody pursuant to section 632.489[.]” § 600.042.4(4). If there once was an issue about who bore…”

Martineau v. State, 242 S.W.3d 456 (Mo. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “The probate court held a section 632.489 probable cause hearing in September 2005, and by agreement, left the record open for additional evidence.”

Brasch v. State, 332 S.W.3d 115 (Mo. 2011). “Pursuant to § 632.489, the court found probable cause to believe that Brasch was a SVP and ordered DMH to evaluate him.”

In The Matter Of The Care & Treatment Of Lester Bradley, a/k/a Lester B. Bradley, a/k/a Lester Bernard Bradley v. State Of Missouri, 440 S.W.3d 546 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “As with the 90-day limit for retrial following mistrial, there is no language in section 632.489 providing for dismissal if the 72-hour time period for the probable cause hearing is not met.”

Fogle v. State, 295 S.W.3d 504 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “has determined by a majority vote, that the person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator, the attorney general may file a petition ..”

Show all 28 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.