BOARD/COMMISSION:  Special Review Board

The Special Review Board hears and makes recommendations on matters affecting the liberty of persons civilly committed as Mentally Ill and Dangerous, a Sexual Psychopathic Personality, and/or Sexually Dangerous Person. Specifically, the Board hears petitions for a reduction in custody filed by or on behalf of these civilly committed persons as well as appeals of provisional discharge revocations and objections to pass plan eligibility.

There are 30 members on the Special Review Board, and each matter is heard by a three-person panel of Board members. Each panel must include a licensed attorney and a licensed psychiatrist or licensed doctoral level psychologist with forensic experience, both of whom must also be experienced in the field of mental illness. The third member of each panel is a community member who is experienced in the field of mental illness.  

Special Review Board members must use technology (e.g. email, internet-based secure file transfer services, etc.) during the course of their Board-related work. Board members must also attend initial training sessions and ongoing training (typically twice per year). Attorney Board members must have excellent writing skills as they are responsible for preparing written Findings of Fact and Recommendations.

Preferred qualifications for all Special Review Board members include professional experience related to sexual abuse or disorders, and experience with the Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 253B) and/or the Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act: Sexually Dangerous Persons and Sexual Psychopathic Personalities (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 253D).

Special Review Board members may not be currently affiliated with the Department of Human Services.

The Special Review Board is established by Minnesota Statutes 253B.18, subdivision 4c. Members are appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services.

Prior to each Special Review Board hearing, the panel members receive and review written materials (e.g. petition, reports, treatment records, etc.). During each hearing, which typically lasts approximately 30 minutes, panel members hear presentations by various individuals (e.g. treatment providers, forensic psychologists or psychiatrists, attorneys, the committed person, and/or the committed person's family/friends) and ask questions of the presenters. Following each hearing, the panel members privately deliberate and decide the panel's recommendation.

Following the hearing, the panel's attorney member drafts written Findings of Fact and Recommendation for the consideration of the Commissioner of Human Services (for matters pertaining to persons civilly committed as Mentally Ill and Dangerous) or the Judicial Appeal Panel (for matters pertaining to persons civilly committed as Sexually Dangerous Persons or Sexual Psychopathic Personalities).

Special Review Board hearings are held in blocks of three to five hearings, which are scheduled over the course of a morning or afternoon multiple times per week. The number of hearings heard by each Special Review Board member varies according to the members' schedules and the number of scheduled hearings.