Conservatorship of Angelina S. CA1/4

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 5, 2014
DocketA141213
StatusUnpublished

This text of Conservatorship of Angelina S. CA1/4 (Conservatorship of Angelina S. CA1/4) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conservatorship of Angelina S. CA1/4, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 8/5/14 Conservatorship of Angelina S. CA1/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

Conservatorship of the Person and Estate of ANGELINA S.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN, A141213 Petitioner and Respondent, v. (Humboldt County Super. Ct. No. PR130329) ANGELINA S., Objector and Appellant.

After a bench trial, the trial court found appellant Angelina S. to be “gravely disabled” and appointed a conservator of the person and estate for her pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 5350, a provision of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act).1 Angelina does not contest the trial court’s finding of grave disability— defined as being “unable to provide for . . . her basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter” as the result of a “mental health disorder” (§ 5008, subd. (h)(1)(A)). Rather, she contends that the trial court’s imposition of certain legal disabilities in connection with the conservatorship was not supported by substantial evidence. Additionally, Angelina 1 All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise indicated. We have abbreviated Angelina S.’s name to protect her privacy. (See § 5325.1, subd. (b); Conservatorship of Susan T. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 1005, 1008, fn. 1.) Section 5350 provides in relevant part that “[a] conservator of . . . the person and the estate may be appointed for any person who is gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder . . . .”

1 argues that the trial court erred in granting the conservator certain special powers authorized by section 2591 of the Probate Code to manage property of her estate. Finding the trial court’s orders to be amply supported by the record, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND On October 23, 2013, Angelina was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold pursuant to section 5150 after she was found yelling at people in the street and the police were called.2 When law enforcement approached her, Angelina was speaking nonsensically and was unable to report any plans to care for herself. Specifically, she stated that she planned to stay at the Broadway Motel because she owned it, although this was not true. Later that day she was involuntarily admitted to Sempervirens, Humboldt County’s inpatient psychiatric facility, after presenting as very agitated and disorganized and making delusional statements about methamphetamine. Specifically, she told Dr. Jasen Christensen, her admitting psychiatrist, that she was a type of god or “the God” and that she uses methamphetamine to “heal herself.” On October 26, 2013, Angelina was served with a 14-day certification pursuant to section 5250, authorizing an additional period of involuntary treatment. Thereafter, by letter dated November 5, 2013, Dr. Christensen requested that the Humboldt County Public Guardian (Public Guardian) institute temporary conservatorship proceedings with respect to Angelina “to provide additional time in a locked facility, to ensure medication compliance and for additional treatment to determine if this patient requires long term hospitalization.” In Dr. Christensen’s opinion, Angelina was, at that point, gravely disabled due to a “pervasive self-care deficit exacerbated by mental

2 Pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 5150, “[w]hen any person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, a peace officer . . . or professional person designated by the county may, upon probable cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody for a period of up to 72 hours for assessment, evaluation, and crisis intervention, or placement for evaluation and treatment in a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services.”

2 illness.” Additionally, he recommended that the Public Guardian be given the power to make informed consent decisions regarding Angelina’s medications and treatment. On November 8, 2013, the Public Guardian filed a petition seeking appointment as Angelina’s conservator under the LPS Act due to her grave disability and unwillingness to accept voluntary care. (See generally § 5000 et seq.) The petition further requested that the court impose certain disabilities on Angelina pursuant to section 5357 as set forth in the petition and in the Public Guardian’s investigative report. Specifically, the petition sought curtailment of Angelina’s rights to possess a driver’s license, to possess a firearm, to enter into contracts, to refuse routine medical treatment unrelated to her grave disability, and to refuse treatment specifically related to her grave disability. (See § 5357, subds. (a), (b), (d), (e) & (f).) The investigator recommended imposition of these disabilities due to “Angelina’s impaired thought process, delusions and need to take medications.” In particular, the investigator opined that the Public Guardian should be given the right to involuntarily medicate Angelina if necessary due to her “labile mood and paranoid content which relate to her fixed delusions of being persecuted by the Devil as well as psychotic agitation and poor insight into her condition.” Additionally, with respect to consent to medical treatment, the petition averred that it would be in Angelina’s “best interest” to grant the Public Guardian the right to require Angelina to receive treatment, both routine care and treatment related to her grave disability. The petition additionally asked that the Public Guardian be given the special powers set forth in sections 2590 and 2591 of the Probate Code to manage Angelina’s estate. Finally, it requested that the Public Guardian be appointed temporary conservator of Angelina’s person and estate pending a final determination of the matter. On November 8, 2013, the trial court issued an order appointing the Public Guardian as Angelina’s temporary conservator. Letters of temporary conservatorship issued that same day. The Public Guardian filed an amendment to the petition on November 14, 2013, which added contact information for certain of Angelina’s relatives and clarified which special powers the Public Guardian was seeking pursuant to section 2591 of the Probate

3 Code. Specifically, the Public Guardian requested the following powers: the power to sell at public or private sale real or personal property of the estate (subd. (c)(1)); the power to purchase real or personal property (subd. (g)); the power to alter, improve, raze, replace, and rebuild property of the estate (subd. (h)); and the power to pay, collect, compromise, or otherwise adjust certain claims, debts, or demands upon the conservatorship or to arbitrate certain disputes (subd. (p)). Angelina was personally served on November 19, 2013, with notice of the hearing on the conservatorship petition, which was initially scheduled for December 5, 2013. On December 5, Angelina’s attorney appeared on her behalf, stated “[s]he objects,” and agreed to the setting of a contested hearing on January 2, 2014. Angelina, however, failed to appear on the January 2 date. According to her attorney: “She chooses not to appear, and no amount of encouragement seemed to sway that position.” The court therefore conducted the hearing in her absence. The only witness at the January 2 hearing was Dr. Christensen, who testified regarding his opinion that Angelina was gravely disabled.3 According to Dr. Christensen, Angelina had been diagnosed as schizophrenic for at least the last 10 years.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Weiner v. Fleischman
816 P.2d 892 (California Supreme Court, 1991)
San Diego County Department of Mental Health v. Manton
703 P.2d 1147 (California Supreme Court, 1985)
Riese v. St. Mary's Hospital & Medical Center
209 Cal. App. 3d 1303 (California Court of Appeal, 1987)
Conservatorship of Walker
206 Cal. App. 3d 1572 (California Court of Appeal, 1989)
Smalley v. Baker
262 Cal. App. 2d 824 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
Conservatorship of George H.
169 Cal. App. 4th 157 (California Court of Appeal, 2008)
San Diego Health & Human Services Agency v. Amanda B.
56 Cal. Rptr. 3d 901 (California Court of Appeal, 2007)
Lake County Mental Health Department v. Susan T.
884 P.2d 988 (California Supreme Court, 1994)
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Christopher A.
139 Cal. App. 4th 604 (California Court of Appeal, 2006)
Cahill v. San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
194 Cal. App. 4th 939 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
K.G. v. Meredith
204 Cal. App. 4th 164 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Scott S. v. Superior Court
204 Cal. App. 4th 326 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Conservatorship of Angelina S. CA1/4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conservatorship-of-angelina-s-ca14-calctapp-2014.