P. v. Landau
Prior to being released on parole after his latest convictions for sex offenses committed on a child under 14 years of age, the Orange County District Attorney filed a petition to have appellant Sidney Nathaniel Landau committed as a sexually violent predator (SVP) under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA), Welfare and Institutions Code section 6600 et seq.[1] More than seven years after the filing of the petition, the third jury to hear the matter found appellant met the criteria for commitment as an SVP. Appellant raises a multitude of issues on appeal, including inter alia, that he was denied due process when he was not brought to trial in a timely manner, he was denied due process when his initial SVP evaluators used unlawful underground regulations, he was denied effective assistance of counsel, the court should have suppressed evidence obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, the court prejudicially erred when it ordered appellant to submit to mental examinations by experts retained by the district attorney, and the present SVPA violates equal protection, due process, ex post facto, and double jeopardy.
While the appeal was pending, the California Supreme Court decided People v. McKee (2010) 47 Cal.4th 1172 (McKee I). The court found SVP’s are similarly situated with individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI’s) and mentally disordered offenders (MDO’s) for equal protection purposes. The court then remanded the matter to the trial court to hold a hearing to determine whether the People could justify “the differences between SVP and NGI commitment statutes.†(Id. at p. 1207.) We suspended further proceedings in this appeal pending the remand in McKee I and the finality of an appellate court decision reviewing the hearing to be held on remand.
The San Diego Superior Court found the People carried their burden and found no equal protection violation. Our brethren in Division One affirmed the finding (People v. McKee (2012) 207 Cal.App.4th 1325, 1350 (McKee II), and the Supreme Court denied review. After McKee II became final, we asked for and obtained supplemental briefs from the parties on the equal protection issue. We now affirm.
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