California Court of Appeal

On appeal from an order granting a petition to extend the appellant's commitment to Porterville Developmental Center pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 6500 following a jury finding that he is a "mentally retarded person, is a danger to himself or others, and has serious difficulty controlling his dangerous behavior because of his mental retardation," the court dismissed the appeal as technically moot but exercised its discretion to hold that due process requires section 6500's phrase "danger to himself . . . or others" be construed as necessitating conduct presenting the likelihood of serious physical injury.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/20/2012
• Published 01/20/2012

Judges

• O'Rourke

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Christopher Blake, Kamala D. Harris