Barney Zellars was found not guilty by reason of insanity of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime on June 21, 2000, and he was committed to the Department of Human Resources the Department for involuntary treatment of paranoid schizophrenia. On September 28, 2000, another hearing was held to determine if Zellars met inpatient civil commitment criteria and he was again committed to the Department. On November 13, 2000, an arrest order for Zellars was entered reflecting that he had escaped from the Georgia Regional Hospital in Augusta. Following a hearing on June 3, 2004, the Department’s request that Zellars be conditionally released was denied, the trial court finding that Zellars continued to meet the criteria for involuntary commitment and treatment. Following another hearing on September 6, 2005, the request of the Department for a conditional release plan for Zellars was approved. Although the order approving the plan states that a copy of it “is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference,” no copy of the plan is contained in the record before us. By petition of February 4, 2009, Zellars requested release from the order finding him not guilty by reason of insanity, contending that he no longer met the requirement for inpatient commitment because “his mental illness is currently in remission.” By order entered January 12, 2010, the trial court found that the . . . social worker and psychiatrist from Georgia Regional monitoring Zellars and his progress stated that he has the same medical diagnosis and is continuing treatment through prescription medication. Zellars is on a strict schedule as far as taking medication. If granted a full release, there will be no immediate recourse if he refuses to take his medication and becomes unstable. By petition of June 14, 2010, Zellars again requested release, contending that he no longer met the requirements for inpatient commitment, again stating that his “mental illness is currently in remission.” Following a hearing, the trial court again denied Zellars’ request for a full release and continued him on his conditional release plan.
Zellars appeals, contending that the trial court erred 1 in abdicating its authority in failing to discharge Zellars from commitment “after he successfully completed all of the requirements of his conditional release plan, during his period of conditional release”; 2 in concluding that Zellars failed to overcome the rebuttable presumption, by a preponderance of evidence, that he no longer requires inpatient involuntary treatment; and 3 “in abdicating its authority when it failed to consider all of the credible and relevant expert and other evidence presented at the hearing and contained in the trial record.”
