P. v. Crivello
In November 2003, defendant was charged with second degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and misdemeanor resisting arrest.[2] He was found incompetent to stand trial and proceedings were suspended until July 2004. Once proceedings were reinstated, defendant pled no contest to second degree robbery and the remaining counts were dismissed. The San Luis Obispo court sentenced him to a two-year state prison term.
In September 2005, the Board of Prison Hearings[3] determined defendant met the criteria of section 2962 as an MDO and sustained the condition he undergo mental health treatment as a condition of parole. Defendant challenged this determination and at an April 2006 trial on the matter, two psychiatric experts offered conflicting opinions. (§ 2966, subd. (b).) Dr. Mendenhall concluded defendant's mental illness was probably among the reasons he committed the robbery. Dr. Phenix concluded defendant was malingering, did not have a mental disorder, and any such disorder was not a cause or aggravating factor in his offense. Based on the conflicting expert testimony, and the tentative nature of Dr. Mendenhall's opinions, the court[4] found there was a reasonable doubt whether defendant had a substantial mental disorder that was a causative or aggravating factor in the robbery. The standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. (§ 2966, subd. (b).)
In both April 2007 and July 2008, the board certified defendant as an MDO and following a court trial, the court found he did not meet the criteria. The board again determined defendant met the criteria of an MDO in January 2009, but defendant was released from the hospital prior to trial. In July 2009, the district attorney again sought continued involuntary treatment of defendant as an MDO. Defendant refused to come to trial, and in August 2009, the court found he had a severe mental disorder that could not be kept in remission without treatment. Accordingly, his commitment was extended under section 2970.
In May 2010, the district attorney filed another petition for continued involuntary treatment of defendant under 2 section
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