People ex rel. Cal. Dep't of State Hosps. v. S.M.

251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 454
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJuly 17, 2019
Docket2d Crim. No. B292131
StatusPublished

This text of 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 454 (People ex rel. Cal. Dep't of State Hosps. v. S.M.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People ex rel. Cal. Dep't of State Hosps. v. S.M., 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 454 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

YEGAN, J.

*456In 2014 S.M was adjudicated a Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) and committed for treatment to the Department of State Hospitals (the Department). (See Pen. Code, § 2960 et seq. )1 He appeals from an order that he "be involuntarily administered antipsychotic medication by the Department ... in the dosage and for the frequency deemed necessary by the Department," not to exceed a period of one year. The order was made because appellant lacks the capacity to refuse medical treatment with antipsychotic drugs. (See In re Qawi (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1, 27, 7 Cal.Rptr.3d 780, 81 P.3d 224 [in nonemergency situations, "an MDO can be compelled to be treated with antipsychotic medication" only if "(1) he is determined by a court to be incompetent to refuse medical treatment; [or] (2) the MDO is determined by a court to be a danger to others within the meaning of Welfare and Institutions Code section 5300"].)

The involuntary medication order is due to expire on July 20, 2019. It is a renewal of a prior order that expired in 2018. In an unpublished opinion, we affirmed the prior order. ( People v. S.M., 2018 WL 1870542 (April 19, 2018, B282195) [nonpub. opn.].)

Appellant contends that (1) the Department lacked standing to petition to renew the involuntary medication order; (2) he was denied his statutory right to represent himself; (3) because of a discovery violation, the expert testimony of appellant's current treating psychiatrist should have been excluded; and (4) the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the opinion of a non-testifying psychiatrist. We affirm.

Facts

Two psychiatrists testified for the Department: Drs. Joshua Deane and Jonathan Funk. Dr. Deane is appellant's current treating psychiatrist. He concluded that appellant suffers from schizophrenia characterized by paranoia, delusions, and disorganization. Dr. Deane opined that appellant "cannot even appreciate the fact that he is a very impaired individual.... And he certainly does not see the impact of his mental illness o[n] his life ... [and] he is not able to appreciate the ... benefit of medication." When asked if appellant had "the capacity to make decisions regarding administration of antipsychotic medication," Dr. Deane replied: "No, he does not. He is too disorganized, illogical and cannot have a ... basic understanding of the fact that he has a mental illness .... Given the fact that he does not even think that he has [a] mental illness, he certainly does not see a need for medication treatment ...." Dr. Deane continued: "[H]e suffers from schizophrenia. And the very nature of this illness dictates that he needs medication treatment, and in addition ... he has been a violent individual. So for that reason he needs to be medicated."

Dr. Funk was appellant's treating psychiatrist for about nine months in 2017-2018. Dr. Funk testified: Appellant has schizophrenia, characterized by "delusions and thought disorder." He has "a history *457of refusing medications." "[H]e does not believe that he has a mental illness." He is not "able to understand and rationally evaluate and participate in the treatment decision." "[H]is appreciation of facts is impaired by his mental illness." There are "numerous episodes where [appellant] asserts things that reality testing demonstrates are a product of his mental illness." Examples of his delusional thinking are that "he had achieved ... advanced degrees from Pepperdine University at age four, and that he had been kidnapped and rescued at age 13." He lacks "the capacity to make decisions regarding administration of antipsychotic medication." He will not take his medication "without an involuntary medication order."

Appellant testified that he was not mentally ill and did not have delusions. He was being involuntarily medicated "as a punishment to make you sluggish and want to sleep all the time."

Daniel Summersdrager, a registered nurse at Atascadero State Hospital, was called as a witness on appellant's behalf. He provided no relevant evidence as to appellant's capacity to refuse treatment with antipsychotic drugs.

Standing

Appellant contends that the Department lacked "standing to file and prosecute the petition" to renew the prior order authorizing it to involuntarily administer antipsychotic medication. (Capitalization and bold omitted.) Appellant claims that the petition should have been filed by the District Attorney: "The MDO law does not permit [the Department] to circumvent the process of referring a recommendation for treatment issues to the district attorney, and to jump in the saddle and file a petition with its own team of lawyers ...."

Appellant argues that the District Attorney is the proper person to file and litigate the petition because "[t]he District Attorney is specified as the attorney who litigates MDO commitments and recommitments ( Pen. Code, §§ 2966, subd. (b) ; 2970, subd. (b)[; 2972, subd. (b) ] ) ...." But the order appealed from does not involve appellant's commitment or recommitment as an MDO. It involves his medical treatment during his commitment or recommitment. The Legislature intended that the Department be responsible for such treatment. Section 2972, subdivision (f) provides: "Any commitment under this article places an affirmative obligation on the treatment facility to provide treatment for the underlying causes of the person's mental disorder."

Since the Department is vested with responsibility for appellant's treatment, it has standing to petition for an order authorizing it to involuntarily medicate appellant as part of his treatment. "The purpose of a standing requirement is to ensure that the courts will decide only actual controversies between parties with a sufficient interest in the subject matter of the dispute to press their case with vigor. [Citations.]" ( Common Cause v. Board of Supervisors (1989) 49 Cal.3d 432, 439, 261 Cal.Rptr. 574, 777 P.2d 610.) That purpose is satisfied here. The California Code of Regulations recognizes the Department's standing. It provides that "[t]he state hospital shall request a court hearing as required by law" to determine whether the legal standard has been met to involuntarily administer antipsychotic medication to an MDO. ( Cal. Code Regs., tit. 9, § 4210, subd. (q).)

Right to Self-representation

Appellant argues that the trial court erroneously denied his motion for self-representation. Appellant said: "I

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Bluebook (online)
251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 454, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-cal-dept-of-state-hosps-v-sm-calctapp5d-2019.