Ramirez v. Superior Court of Imperial Cnty.

223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 536, 15 Cal. App. 5th 643, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 812
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedSeptember 22, 2017
DocketD072473
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 536 (Ramirez v. Superior Court of Imperial Cnty.) 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
Ramirez v. Superior Court of Imperial Cnty., 223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 536, 15 Cal. App. 5th 643, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 812 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

HALLER, Acting P. J.

*647Guadalupe Fabian Ramirez petitions this court for a writ of mandate directing the superior court to vacate its order extraditing him to Arizona. Ramirez contends he is mentally incompetent and the court's order extraditing him violates his due process rights. Ramirez seeks placement in an appropriate mental health facility, as described by California's criminal competency statutes, until he can be restored to competency. (See Pen. Code, § 1367 et seq. )1

We agree that the superior court's extradition order must be vacated, but for different reasons than those initially asserted by Ramirez. We requested and received supplemental briefing regarding the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) and its effect on the proceedings below. The record shows that Ramirez was an Arizona probationer who had his supervision transferred to California under the ICAOS.

*648Arizona requested his return based on probation violations that occurred in California, not based on any new crimes committed in Arizona, and made its request under the ICAOS. Ramirez's return to Arizona is therefore governed by ICAOS rules, not California's extradition statutes. ICOAS rules require a probable cause hearing where, as here, an offender will face revocation proceedings upon his or her return. The proceedings below did not comply with ICAOS rules governing probable cause hearings. The court therefore erred by ordering Ramirez's extradition.

For the benefit of the superior court on remand, we further consider the effect of Ramirez's incompetency on a probable cause hearing under ICAOS rules. Because the probable cause hearing is an extension of his criminal case in Arizona, and is in effect part of Ramirez's probation revocation proceedings, we conclude California's criminal competency statutes, section 1367 et seq., apply. The superior court must therefore proceed in accordance with those statutes on remand.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2006, Ramirez pleaded guilty in Arizona state court to three felony sex offenses involving minors. The Arizona court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, to be followed by lifetime probation. Following his release from prison, Ramirez applied to transfer his probation to California under the ICAOS. As part of his application, Ramirez waived extradition and agreed to return to Arizona if directed.2

*539After several months, during which Ramirez apparently lived in California, the Arizona court received information that Ramirez had violated the terms of his probation. An Arizona probation officer informed that court he had reason to believe the following terms had been violated: (1) "The defendant did not receive prior approval before changing residence. The defendant did not reside in a residence approved by the California Probation Department." (2) "The defendant did not attend sex offender treatment as directed by [the] supervising California probation officer." (3) "The defendant loitered near a McDonald's Playland on April 11, 2017, and April 14, 2017, a location *649known to the defendant as a place primarily used by children under the age of 18." The officer wrote in a "NOTE TO COURT" that he sought an "INTERSTATE COMPACT WARRANT" and referenced an ICAOS rule regarding the treatment of ICAOS offenders.

The Arizona court found probable cause to believe Ramirez had violated the terms of his probation and issued a warrant for his arrest. The Arizona court's order and the warrant were prominently marked "INTERSTATE COMPACT PROBATION VIOLATION." Notations on the warrant form stated "[o]kay to [e]xtradite" and referenced the Arizona sheriff's fugitive detail.

Approximately a week later, on May 2, 2017, the Imperial County Sheriff's Office filed a fugitive complaint against Ramirez. The complaint sought Ramirez's extradition under California's extradition statutes, section 1548 et seq. The complaint alleged that Ramirez had been charged with the crime of " PC 290 SEX REGISTRANT, FELONY" in Arizona and a warrant for his arrest on that crime had been issued there. It further alleged as follows: "That after said offense(s) had been committed, the said defendant did voluntarily leave the said state and the said defendant was and now is a fugitive from justice and is now in the County of Imperial, State of California." The complaint requested "that a warrant may be issued for the arrest of said defendant who may then be dealt with according to law, pursuant to [section] 1551."

Ramirez was arrested and arraigned on the complaint. The court appointed counsel, and Ramirez denied the allegations. The court set an identification hearing in 10 days. At the hearing, defense counsel expressed doubt about Ramirez's mental competency. The court stayed the proceedings under section 1368, ordered a competency evaluation, and scheduled a status review hearing and a competency hearing.

At the status review hearing, the court (with a different judge presiding) expressed doubt that section 1368 applied to extradition proceedings but invited counsel to brief the issue. In the meantime, the court vacated the stay, rescinded the order for a competency evaluation, and reset the identification hearing. The court later confirmed its belief that section 1368 did not apply.

However, two mental health evaluators had already seen Ramirez and submitted *540their reports. Both evaluators diagnosed Ramirez with schizophrenia. One evaluator, Louis Blumberg, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, concluded based on his examination that Ramirez "does not have the capacity to understand the charges; the ability to understand the purpose of the criminal process and the adversary system; nor the ability to relate pertinent facts or *650other information to assist counsel in presenting a defense." Blumberg noted that Ramirez was unable to maintain eye contact (and kept his hands covering his face), he was unable to maintain an articulate conversation, and he was unable to answer any questions pertaining to his competence. His thought process was disorganized, and he kept repeating that he had spent 11 years in prison in Arizona and did not trust anyone, including his attorney and the judge. The other evaluator, Rakesh Bhansali, M.D., a psychiatrist, noted that Ramirez's thought process was disorganized and tangential, with paranoid delusions. Ramirez told Bhansali he heard the voices of female and male "hackers" that were " 'playing his mind' " and " 'playing cyberwarfare with him.' " Bhansali recommended inpatient treatment as the most appropriate, least restrictive placement to restore Ramirez's mental competency. He believed Ramirez had "a chronic psychiatric condition that requires psychotropic medication to control psychotic disorder symptoms" and that he "need[ed] to be supervised in order to assure compliance with the medications in order to avoid decompensation of his symptoms."

The identification hearing was held on June 28, 2017.

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Bluebook (online)
223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 536, 15 Cal. App. 5th 643, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramirez-v-superior-court-of-imperial-cnty-calctapp5d-2017.