Bill Text: CA SB295 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Sexually violent predators: civil commitment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-08-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 182, Statutes of 2013. [SB295 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB295-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 295 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 182
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 27, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 27, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 15, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 8, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 7, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Emmerson
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
An act to amend Sections 6605 and 6608 of, and to add Section
6604.9 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to sexually
violent predators.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 295, Emmerson. Sexually violent predators: civil commitment.
Existing law provides for the civil commitment of criminal
offenders who have been determined to be sexually violent predators
for treatment in a secure state hospital facility, as specified.
Existing law requires the Secretary of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation to refer a prisoner for evaluation by the State
Department of State Hospitals when the secretary determines that the
person may be a sexually violent predator and specifies the judicial
processes necessary for civil commitment as a sexually violent
predator, including, but not limited to, the right to a jury trial.
Existing law establishes provisions by which a committed person is
annually reviewed to determine his or her status and by which the
committed person may petition for conditional release or
unconditional discharge. Proposition 83 of the November 7, 2006,
statewide general election, made various changes to the sexually
violent predator civil commitment process.
Proposition 83 permits the Legislature to amend its provisions,
either by a 2/3 vote of the membership of each house, or by a
majority vote of the membership of each house if the amendments
expand the scope of the application of the provisions of the
proposition or increase the punishments or penalties provided in the
proposition.
This bill would clarify which provisions are to be used when a
committed person petitions for conditional release and which
provisions are to be used when a committed person petitions for
unconditional discharge and would make nonsubstantive, organizational
changes to the provisions. The bill would also require the community
program director designated by the State Department of State
Hospitals to submit a report to the court in response to the petition
that makes a recommendation as to the appropriateness of placement
of the person in a state-operated forensic conditional release
program before a hearing can be held. The bill would require, as part
of the conditional release hearing, that a designated attorney
represent the state and have the committed person evaluated by
experts chosen by the state, and would give the committed person the
right to the appointment of experts, if he or she so requests. The
bill would also prohibit, if unconditional discharge is denied, the
committed person from petitioning for unconditional discharge for one
year.
Existing law places the burden of proof in a hearing for
conditional release on the petitioner, by a preponderance of the
evidence.
This bill, when the annual report determines that conditional
release to a less restrictive alternative is in the best interest of
the person and that conditions can be imposed that would adequately
protect the community, would shift the burden of proof to the state
to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that conditional release
is not appropriate.
Existing law prohibits action on a petition for conditional
release that was not made by the director of the treatment facility
to which the person is committed without first obtaining the written
recommendation of the director of the treatment facility.
This bill would, instead, prohibit action on a petition for
conditional release that was not made with the consent of the
director of the treatment facility without first obtaining the
written recommendation of the director of the treatment facility.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6604.9 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
6604.9. (a) A person found to be a sexually violent predator and
committed to the custody of the State Department of State Hospitals
shall have a current examination of his or her mental condition made
at least once every year. The report shall be in the form of a
declaration and shall be prepared by a professionally qualified
person. The person may retain or, if he or she is indigent and so
requests, the court may appoint, a qualified expert or professional
person to examine him or her, and the expert or professional person
shall have access to all records concerning the person.
(b) The annual report shall include consideration of whether the
committed person currently meets the definition of a sexually violent
predator and whether conditional release to a less restrictive
alternative, pursuant to Section 6608, or an unconditional discharge,
pursuant to Section 6605, is in the best interest of the person and
conditions can be imposed that would adequately protect the
community.
(c) The State Department of State Hospitals shall file this
periodic report with the court that committed the person under this
article. A copy of the report shall be served on the prosecuting
agency involved in the initial commitment and upon the committed
person.
(d) If the State Department of State Hospitals determines that
either: (1) the person's condition has so changed that the person no
longer meets the definition of a sexually violent predator and
should, therefor, be considered for unconditional discharge, or (2)
conditional release to a less restrictive alternative is in the best
interest of the person and conditions can be imposed that adequately
protect the community, the director shall authorize the person to
petition the court for conditional release to a less restrictive
alternative or for an unconditional discharge. The petition shall be
filed with the court and served upon the prosecuting agency
responsible for the initial commitment.
(e) The court, upon receipt of the petition for conditional
release to a less restrictive alternative, shall consider the
petition using procedures described in Section 6608.
(f) The court, upon receiving a petition for unconditional
discharge, shall order a show cause hearing, pursuant to the
provisions of Section 6605, at which the court may consider the
petition and any accompanying documentation provided by the medical
director, the prosecuting attorney, or the committed person.
SEC. 2. Section 6605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
6605. (a) (1) The court, upon receiving a petition for
unconditional discharge, shall order a show cause hearing at which
the court can consider the petition and any accompanying
documentation provided by the medical director, the prosecuting
attorney, or the committed person.
(2) If the court at the show cause hearing determines that
probable cause exists to believe that the committed person's
diagnosed mental disorder has so changed that he or she is not a
danger to the health and safety of others and is not likely to engage
in sexually violent criminal behavior if discharged, then the court
shall set a hearing on the issue.
(3) At the hearing, the committed person shall have the right to
be present and shall be entitled to the benefit of all constitutional
protections that were afforded to him or her at the initial
commitment proceeding. The attorney designated by the county pursuant
to subdivision (i) of Section 6601 shall represent the state and
shall have the right to demand a jury trial and to have the committed
person evaluated by experts chosen by the state. The committed
person also shall have the right to demand a jury trial and to have
experts evaluate him or her on his or her behalf. The court shall
appoint an expert if the person is indigent and requests an
appointment. The burden of proof at the hearing shall be on the state
to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the committed person's
diagnosed mental disorder remains such that he or she is a danger to
the health and safety of others and is likely to engage in sexually
violent criminal behavior if discharged. Where the person's failure
to participate in or complete treatment is relied upon as proof that
the person's condition has not changed, and there is evidence to
support that reliance, the jury shall be instructed substantially as
follows:
"The committed person's failure to participate in or complete the
State Department of State Hospitals Sex Offender Commitment Program
(SOCP) are facts that, if proved, may be considered as evidence that
the committed person's condition has not changed. The weight to be
given that evidence is a matter for the jury to determine."
(b) If the court or jury rules against the committed person at the
hearing conducted pursuant to subdivision (a), the term of
commitment of the person shall run for an indeterminate period from
the date of this ruling and the committed person may not file a new
petition until one year has elapsed from the date of the ruling. If
the court or jury rules for the committed person, he or she shall be
unconditionally released and unconditionally discharged.
(c) If the State Department of State Hospitals has reason to
believe that a person committed to it as a sexually violent predator
is no longer a sexually violent predator, it shall seek judicial
review of the person's commitment pursuant to the procedures set
forth in Section 7250 in the superior court from which the commitment
was made. If the superior court determines that the person is no
longer a sexually violent predator, he or she shall be
unconditionally released and unconditionally discharged.
SEC. 3. Section 6608 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
6608. (a) A person who has been committed as a sexually violent
predator shall be permitted to petition the court for conditional
release with or without the recommendation or concurrence of the
Director of State Hospitals. If a person has previously filed a
petition for conditional release without the concurrence of the
director and the court determined, either upon review of the petition
or following a hearing, that the petition was frivolous or that the
committed person's condition had not so changed that he or she would
not be a danger to others in that it is not likely that he or she
will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior if placed under
supervision and treatment in the community, then the court shall deny
the subsequent petition unless it contains facts upon which a court
could find that the condition of the committed person had so changed
that a hearing was warranted. Upon receipt of a first or subsequent
petition from a committed person without the concurrence of the
director, the court shall endeavor whenever possible to review the
petition and determine if it is based upon frivolous grounds and, if
so, shall deny the petition without a hearing. The person petitioning
for conditional release under this subdivision shall be entitled to
assistance of counsel. The person petitioning for conditional release
shall serve a copy of the petition on the State Department of State
Hospitals at the time the petition is filed with the court.
(b) If the court deems the petition not frivolous pursuant to
subdivision (a), the court shall give notice of the hearing date to
the attorney designated in subdivision (i) of Section 6601, the
retained or appointed attorney for the committed person, and the
Director of State Hospitals at least 30 court days before the hearing
date.
(c) If the petition for conditional release is made without the
consent of the director of the treatment facility, no action shall be
taken on the petition by the court without first obtaining the
written recommendation of the director of the treatment facility.
(d) No hearing upon the petition shall be held until the person
who is committed has been under commitment for confinement and care
in a facility designated by the Director of State Hospitals for not
less than one year from the date of the order of commitment. No
hearing upon the petition shall be held until the community program
director designated by the State Department of State Hospitals
submits a report to the court that makes a recommendation as to the
appropriateness of placing the person in a state-operated forensic
conditional release program.
(e) The court shall hold a hearing to determine whether the person
committed would be a danger to the health and safety of others in
that it is likely that he or she will engage in sexually violent
criminal behavior due to his or her diagnosed mental disorder if
under supervision and treatment in the community. The attorney
designated pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 6601 shall
represent the state and shall have the committed person evaluated by
experts chosen by the state. The committed person shall have the
right to the appointment of experts, if he or she so requests. If the
court at the hearing determines that the committed person would not
be a danger to others due to his or her diagnosed mental disorder
while under supervision and treatment in the community, the court
shall order the committed person placed with an appropriate forensic
conditional release program operated by the state for one year. A
substantial portion of the state-operated forensic conditional
release program shall include outpatient supervision and treatment.
The court shall retain jurisdiction of the person throughout the
course of the program.
(f) Before placing a committed person in a state-operated forensic
conditional release program, the community program director
designated by the State Department of State Hospitals shall submit a
written recommendation to the court stating which forensic
conditional release program is most appropriate for supervising and
treating the committed person. If the court does not accept the
community program director's recommendation, the court shall specify
the reason or reasons for its order on the record. The procedures
described in Sections 1605 to 1610, inclusive, of the Penal Code
shall apply to the person placed in the forensic conditional release
program.
(g) If the court determines that the person should be transferred
to a state-operated forensic conditional release program, the
community program director, or his or her designee, shall make the
necessary placement arrangements and, within 30 days after receiving
notice of the court's finding, the person shall be placed in the
community in accordance with the treatment and supervision plan
unless good cause for not doing so is presented to the court.
(h) If the court denies the petition to place the person in an
appropriate forensic conditional release program, the person may not
file a new application until one year has elapsed from the date of
the denial.
(i) In a hearing authorized by this section, the committed person
shall have the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence,
unless the report required by Section 6604.9 determines that
conditional release to a less restrictive alternative is in the best
interest of the person and that conditions can be imposed that would
adequately protect the community, in which case the burden of proof
shall be on the state to show, by a preponderance of the evidence,
that conditional release is not appropriate.
(j) Time spent in a conditional release program pursuant to this
section shall not count toward the term of commitment under this
article unless the person is confined in a locked facility by the
conditional release program, in which case the time spent in a locked
facility shall count toward the term of commitment.
(k) After a minimum of one year on conditional release, the
committed person, with or without the recommendation or concurrence
of the Director of State Hospitals, may petition the court for
unconditional discharge. The court shall use the procedures described
in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 6605 to determine if the
person should be unconditionally discharged from commitment on the
basis that, by reason of a diagnosed mental disorder, he or she is no
longer a danger to the health and safety of others in that it is not
likely that he or she will engage in sexually violent criminal
behavior.
