People v. Endsley

California Court of Appeal·Decided October 10, 2018·No. E068576·Published

Opinion

Filed 10/10/18 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, E068576 v. (Super.Ct.No. FSB07901) MARC ANTHONY ENDSLEY, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Lorenzo R.

Balderrama, Judge. Reversed with directions.

Christian C. Buckley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Barry Carlton and Seth M. Friedman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

This is Marc Anthony Endsley’s second appeal challenging the denial of his Penal Code section 1026.2 petition for conditional release from the state hospital. (See Pen. Code, § 1026.2 subds. (a)-(m), unlabeled statutory citations refer to this code.) Endsley was committed to the state hospital in 1997 after a jury found him not guilty of the first degree murder of his father by reason of insanity (NGI).

In his first appeal, he argued the trial court erred by summarily denying his petition without a hearing. (See People v. Soiu (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 1191, 1198 (Soiu) [trial court may not deny § 1026.2 petitions for conditional release “without holding a hearing at which [the NGI petitioner] would be present”].) In People v. Endsley (2016) 248 Cal.App.4th 110 (Endsley I), we agreed he was entitled to a hearing and—interpreting section 1026.2, subdivision (l), which prohibits a trial court from ruling on an NGI’s application for release without first reviewing the state hospital’s recommendation on the appropriateness of release—held it was the duty of the trial court, not the NGI, to procure the recommendation. On remand, the trial court obtained the recommendation, held a hearing at which the state’s experts testified against release, and again denied the petition.

Before issuing that ruling, the court denied Endsley’s request for an independent expert to assist him in demonstrating he was ready for outpatient treatment. The court also denied Endsley’s request to testify remotely by telephone to avoid being transferred from state hospital to jail before his hearing. To support his request to testify remotely, Endsley argued NGIs could not be housed in jail pending hearings on their petitions for

release from state hospital commitment under the holding of In re Lee (1978) 78 Cal.App.3d 753 (Lee). Taking Endsley’s objection to jail as a refusal to testify in person, the trial court denied his request to testify remotely and proceeded to rule on the petition.

In this appeal, Endsley challenges the denial of his two prehearing requests, arguing the trial court violated his constitutional rights to testify at his hearing and to the assistance of an independent medical expert. Endsley argues the court erred by ruling on his request to testify remotely without first ensuring the selection of a confinement facility that could “continue [his] program of treatment,” as required by section 1026.2, subdivisions (b) and (c). He also argues the holding in People v. McKee (2010) 47 Cal.4th 1172 (McKee) that sexually violent predators (SVPs) have a due process right to the appointment of an independent expert to assist them in petitioning for conditional release from involuntary civil confinement should extend to NGIs seeking conditional release. For the reasons explained below, we agree with both of Endsley’s contentions. We will therefore reverse the denial of his petition and remand to the trial court with directions set out in part III, post.

I

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Endsley was committed to the state hospital in 1997 and remained there until 2012, when the trial court granted his petition for conditional release and placed him on outpatient status in San Bernardino County’s conditional release program (CONREP). However, less than a year later, the court recommitted Endsley to the state hospital based

on reports he was refusing to process his anger and aggression toward CONREP for restricting his access to violent video games.

As we recounted in Endsley I, the periodic progress reports after his recommitment reflected Endsley was making steady progress on his anger and aggression issues. (Endsley I, supra, 248 Cal.App.4th at p. 115.) By October 2014, his treatment team had formally referred him to CONREP. His evaluator concluded he was “ready for placement in [CONREP]” and could “hopeful[ly]” be released “in the relatively near future.” (Id. at pp. 115-116.) A March 2015 progress report noted he was demonstrating “more insight and control over his thoughts than in the past.” (Id. at p. 116.)

In May 2015, Endsley filed a petition for conditional release under section 1026.2 and alleged his sanity had been restored such that he would not pose a danger to himself or others if placed in outpatient treatment. The petition requested a hearing and the appointment of an independent medical expert. (Endsley I, supra, 248 Cal.App.4th at p. 116.) That same month, the trial court summarily denied the petition without stating its reasons. Endsley appealed, and the People responded that summary denial was proper because he failed to submit the state hospital medical director’s recommendation on the appropriateness of relief along with his petition. (Id. at pp. 114-115.) The People’s argument required us to interpret the meaning of section 1026.2, subdivision (l), which provides, “If the application for the release is [made by the NGI as opposed to the person in charge of treatment], no action on the application shall be taken by the court without first obtaining the written recommendation of the medical director of the state hospital or

other treatment facility or of the community program director where the person is on outpatient status.”

In June 2016, we issued Endsley I, where we held that Endsley was entitled to a hearing on his petition and that section 1026.2, subdivision (l) requires the trial court, not the NGI, to obtain the medical director’s recommendation. (Endsley I, supra, 248 Cal.App.4th at pp. 114-115.) Following remand, in September 2016, the trial court ordered the state hospital to submit a report containing its recommendation on Endsley’s petition by October 26, 2016. In February 2017, with the report still outstanding, the trial court reissued its order, this time with a deadline of March 8, 2017. Sometime between March 10 and 17, the state hospital filed its report. Dr. Laguitan, a state hospital psychiatrist and the author of the report, concluded Endsley was not ready for conditional release to CONREP and recommended retaining and treating him.

At a hearing on March 17, 2017, Endsley raised the issue of an independent expert, stating, “I would strongly like to object to the lack . . . of . . . any independent evaluators at all being appointed to come and see me. I believe it’s a violation of my due process rights as . . . the only reports the Court is operating under are those that are being prepared by the people who are directly opposed to my release, that is the hospital and CONREP. I think that’s biased.” The court noted the objection and confirmed with Endsley that he would be appearing at his hearing telephonically, from the state hospital. At that point, the prosecutor objected to Endsley’s testifying by any means other than in

person. The court noted the prosecutor’s objection and deferred ruling until Endsley decided whether or not he wished to testify.

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