People v. Superior Court (Ramirez), A085269

• Court: California Court of Appeals
• Citation: 83 Cal.Rptr.2d 402,70 Cal.App.4th 1384
• Decision Date: 30 March 1999
• Docket Number: No. A085269,A085269
• Parties: , 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2328, 1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 3027 The PEOPLE, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT of the City and County of San Francisco, Respondent; Carlos RAMIREZ, Real Party in Interest.

Page 402

83 Cal.Rptr.2d 402 70 Cal.App.4th 1384, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2328, 1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 3027 The PEOPLE, Petitioner,
v.
The SUPERIOR COURT of the City and County of San Francisco, Respondent;
Carlos RAMIREZ, Real Party in Interest. No. A085269. Court of Appeal, First District, Division 2, California. March 30, 1999.

Page 403

[70 Cal.App.4th 1385] Brendan Conroy By appointment of the Court of Appeal under the First District Appellate Project Independent Case System for Real Party in Interest.

Daniel E. Lungren/Bill Lockyer, Attorneys General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Peter J. Siggins, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Bruce M. Slavin, Supervising Deputy Attorney, General Greg Mangani, Deputy Attorney General, for the People.

HAERLE, Acting P.J.

I. INTRODUCTION

By petition for writ of mandate, the People challenge an order of the trial court dismissing a petition for the civil commitment of real party Carlos Ramirez under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA or Act). (Welf. & Inst.Code, § 6600 et seq.) ¹ The issue presented is whether a petition to extend Ramirez's commitment, filed four days before his release date, was timely filed under the Act. In this issue of first impression, we conclude that the trial court erred in finding the petition untimely. We will [70 Cal.App.4th 1386] grant the People's petition and direct the trial court to vacate its order of dismissal and to proceed instead with a trial under Welfare and Institutions Code section 6604. ²

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On September 8, 1997, Ramirez waived trial and stipulated that he was a person described by section 6600 of the Act, and that he would be committed to the Department of Mental Health for two years. As part of the stipulation, his two-year commitment was to commence on September 1, 1996, and end on September 1, 1998.

On August 27, 1998, the People filed a petition for recommitment of Ramirez as a sexually violent predator pursuant to section 6604. The petition was based on a request from the Medical Director of Atascadero State Hospital that Ramirez be recommitted because the treatment staff believed that Ramirez remained a danger to the health and safety of others and was likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior if discharged. Ramirez had been convicted of three counts of annoying/molesting a child under 18 years, one count of false imprisonment, three counts of sending harmful matter with the intent to seduce a minor, five counts of sodomy, and one count of rape.

On August 31, 1998, the court heard brief argument and signed an order directing that Ramirez be detained in a secure facility pursuant to section 6604 based upon its finding that there was probable cause to believe that Ramirez was likely to engage in sexually violent predatory criminal behavior upon release from custody.

The matter was originally set for trial on November 23, 1998, but counsel for Ramirez moved to continue the trial date based upon counsel's unavailability and his desire to file a motion to dismiss. Ramirez then filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, which was heard on December 11, 1998. In that motion, he contended the petition for recommitment was untimely because the filing of it four days before his original commitment

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was to expire denied him the right to a trial before the expiration of his original commitment. The People opposed the motion on the ground that the Act sets no time requirement for a subsequent commitment trial.

After hearing argument on the motion to dismiss, the trial court granted the motion on December 15, 1998, ordering the petition dismissed and [70 Cal.App.4th 1387] Ramirez released. In ruling that the petition was untimely, the court relied on People v. Kirkland (1994) 24 Cal.App.4th 891, 29 Cal.Rptr.2d 863, a case that interpreted the time limits set forth in the Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) Act. (Pen.Code, § 2960 et seq.) By analogy to the MDO Act the trial court concluded that the trial must be completed before the expiration date of the commitment. Accordingly, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to act on the petition. Recognizing that the issue was one of first impression, the court stayed the effective date of the order until December 30, 1998, to allow the People time to seek writ review. We further stayed the trial court's order and issued an order to show cause why a peremptory writ of mandate should not issue as prayed for in the petition.

III. DISCUSSION

The issue presented is whether the Act requires that the recommitment trial be completed before the date the original commitment term expires. Since the Act is new, there is little case law interpreting it and nothing on the precise question presented. ³ Our Supreme Court has recently upheld the SVPA against a facial challenge to its constitutionality in Hubbart v. Superior Court (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1138, 81 Cal.Rptr.2d 492, 969 P.2d 584, and the United States Supreme Court likewise upheld the constitutionality of a similar Kansas statute in Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) 521 U.S. 346, 117 S.Ct. 2072, 138 L.Ed.2d 501. Although Hubbart did not address the question before us, its discussion of the history and purpose of the SVPA provides some guidance.

"The scheme under consideration here took effect January 1, 1996. (Stats.1995, ch. 763, § 3.) In describing the underlying purpose, the Legislature expressed concern over a select group of criminal offenders who are extremely dangerous as the result of mental impairment, and who are likely to continue committing acts of sexual violence even after they have been punished for such crimes. The Legislature indicated that to the extent such [70 Cal.App.4th 1388] persons are currently incarcerated and readily identifiable, commitment under the SVPA is warranted immediately upon their release from prison. The Act provides treatment for mental disorders from which they currently suffer and reduces the threat of harm otherwise posed to the public. No punitive purpose was intended. (Id., § 1.)" (Hubbart v. Superior Court, supra, 19 Cal.4th at pp. 1143-1144, 81 Cal.Rptr.2d 492, 969 P.2d 584.)

The SVPA establishes a procedure for the civil commitment of sexually violent predators. Sexually violent predators are defined in section 6600 as persons who: (1) have been convicted of specified sexually violent offenses against two or more victims for which they received determinate sentences; and (2) have a diagnosed mental...