A voluntary patient who requests to be discharged or whose discharge is requested, in writing, by the patient's parent or legal guardian or other interested person must be discharged, except that: (1) if the patient was admitted on the patient's own application and the request for discharge is made by a person other than the patient, discharge must be conditioned upon the agreement of the patient; (2) if the director of the hospital, within three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the patient or other interested person requests the patient's discharge, files with the probate court of the county in which the patient resided or was present immediately before admission a certificate that in the director's opinion, the patient desiring discharge is mentally ill and should be hospitalized, discharge may be postponed on application for as long as the court determines by order to be necessary for conducting proceedings for judicial admission, but in no event for more than fifteen days. Upon the filing of a certificate, the proceedings for judicial admission must be conducted pursuant to Sections 44-17-510 through 44-17-610.
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