California Court of Appeal

In a case concerning the appropriate procedure for challenging the administrative placement of a mentally disordered offender (MDO) who is recommitted to a facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation rather than to Napa State Hospital, orders recommitting the MDO to California State Prison at Sacramento (CSP-Sacramento) are affirmed and an order directing that the MDO be housed in that prison's psychiatric services unit is vacated, where: 1) the trial court was statutorily compelled to order that the MDO be recommitted to CSP-Sacramento, and thus his constitutional challenge to Welfare and Institutions Code section 7301 is not cognizable on appeal; and 2) although the MDO made out a colorable claim that his continued confinement at CSP-Sacramento violated his liberty interest in safety and freedom from restraint under the Fourteenth Amendment, he was required to pursue such a claim in a petition for habeas corpus.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/19/2012
• Published 01/19/2012

Judges

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Julia J. Spikes, Kamala D. Harris