Petitions for writ of mandate challenging trial court's denial of petitioners' motions to dismiss recommitment petitions, brought after the trial court granted People's motions to convert petitioners' involuntary two-year commitment under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA) to an indeterminate term under the 2006 amendment to the SVPA, are denied where: 1) substantial evidence supports the trial court's finding that the People made a good faith mistake of law when they failed to timely file the recommitment petitions before the expirations of petitioners' most recent two-year commitment periods; 2) the good-faith exception of section 6601(a)(2) precludes dismissal of the untimely recommitment petitions because petitioners' unlawful custody was due to People's mistake of law; and 3) therefore, the trial court properly denied petitioners' motions to dismiss and the court has jurisdiction to proceed on the petitions.
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Appellate Information
Filed November 16, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Bamattre-Manoukian
Counsel
For Appellant: Mary J. Greenwood, Public Defender, Michael S. Ogul, Deputy Public Defender, Matthew M. Wilson, Deputy Public Defender
For Appellee: Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Bridget Billeter, Deputy Attorney General