A 2013 medical hold refers to California Penal Code Section 2013, which authorizes the transfer of a state prison inmate to a state psychiatric hospital for mental health treatment. Unlike a 5150 hold, which applies to anyone in the community, a 2013 hold is specific to people serving time in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) system. It allows correctional authorities to move a prisoner to an inpatient mental health facility when that person’s psychiatric condition requires a level of care that cannot be provided within the prison itself.
How a 2013 Hold Differs From a 5150 Hold
California’s mental health hold system uses different code sections depending on who the person is and where they are. The most widely known is the 5150 hold under the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, which allows a 72-hour involuntary psychiatric evaluation for any civilian who is a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or gravely disabled. A gravely disabled person is someone who, because of a mental disorder, cannot provide for their own basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter.
A 2013 hold operates under a different legal framework because the person is already in state custody. The core concern is the same: the individual’s mental health has deteriorated to the point where they need intensive psychiatric care. But the mechanism is different. Rather than a psychiatrist or law enforcement officer initiating a 72-hour community hold, correctional medical staff identify the need, and the CDCR arranges a transfer to a Department of State Hospitals facility. The inmate does not choose this transfer voluntarily.
For minors in the community, California uses yet another framework under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5585, which governs the initial 72 hours of involuntary mental health evaluation for children and adolescents. A “gravely disabled minor” is defined as one who cannot use the elements essential to health, safety, and development, even when those elements are provided by others. These distinctions matter because each code section carries its own procedures, timelines, and legal protections.
Why a 2013 Hold Gets Initiated
Prison mental health staff may pursue a 2013 transfer when an inmate’s psychiatric symptoms become severe enough that the correctional facility’s mental health program cannot safely manage them. This typically involves acute psychosis, severe self-harm risk, or behavior driven by a mental disorder that puts the individual or others at serious risk. The general criteria mirror what applies in civilian involuntary holds across most U.S. states: dangerousness to self, dangerousness to others, or grave disability.
The shift toward dangerousness-based criteria for involuntary psychiatric treatment began in the 1960s and was cemented by the 1975 Supreme Court ruling in O’Connor v. Donaldson, which established that individuals can be held against their will only if they represent a direct risk to themselves or others, or are unable to survive safely on their own. That standard now underpins involuntary commitment laws in virtually every state, including the criteria used within correctional settings.
What Happens During the Hold
Once transferred under Penal Code 2013, the inmate receives inpatient psychiatric treatment at a state hospital. This can include psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and stabilization. The goal is to treat the acute psychiatric crisis so the person can eventually return to the correctional facility’s regular mental health program.
The duration of a 2013 hold is not fixed at 72 hours the way a civilian 5150 hold is. Because the person is already serving a sentence and remains in state custody throughout, the transfer can last as long as the treating facility determines it is medically necessary. This is a key practical difference: in the community, a 5150 hold expires after 72 hours unless it is converted to a longer hold (a 5250, which adds 14 days). In the prison system, the timeline is driven more by clinical need and less by a strict statutory clock, though the inmate retains certain rights to challenge the placement.
Rights of the Person on a 2013 Hold
Inmates transferred under a 2013 hold do not lose their legal rights to challenge the placement. They can request a judicial review, and courts can evaluate whether the hold meets the legal criteria. This parallels the civilian system, where a person on an involuntary hold can petition for a habeas corpus hearing, asking a judge to determine whether the hold is legally justified.
In the civilian context, hospitals are required to release a person before the full hold period expires if staff determine the person no longer needs evaluation or treatment. A similar principle applies in the correctional mental health system: if the inmate stabilizes and no longer requires inpatient-level psychiatric care, they should be returned to the prison’s mental health program rather than held indefinitely at the state hospital.
How This Relates to Other Hold Numbers
California’s mental health system is full of numbered holds, and they can be confusing. Here is how the most common ones fit together:
- 5150 hold: A 72-hour involuntary psychiatric evaluation for any adult in the community who meets dangerousness or grave disability criteria.
- 5585 hold: The equivalent of a 5150 but specifically for minors, with criteria adapted to account for a child’s developmental needs.
- 5250 hold: A 14-day extension that can follow a 5150 if the person still meets criteria after the initial 72 hours.
- 2013 hold: A transfer of a state prison inmate to a psychiatric hospital under Penal Code 2013, used when prison-level mental health care is insufficient.
The 72-hour window that dominates civilian holds is the most common time limit for emergency psychiatric detention across the United States, though its origins are more convention than science. Correctional holds like the 2013 operate outside that framework because the person is already in custody, and the question is not whether to detain them but where they receive care.
If you or a family member has been placed on a 2013 hold, understanding that it functions as a transfer for psychiatric treatment, not an additional criminal proceeding, can help clarify what is happening. The person remains a CDCR inmate throughout and returns to the correctional system once stabilized. Legal aid organizations that specialize in prisoners’ rights can help navigate the process of challenging the placement if there are concerns about whether it meets the required criteria.