L. A. Cnty. Office of the Pub. Guardian v. M.C. (Conservatorship of the Person of M.C.)

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Conservatorship of the Person of M.C.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN, as Conservator, etc., Petitioner and Respondent, v. M.C., Objector and Appellant.

B327027

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Third Division

November 22, 2023

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County No ZE042938. Ronald Owen Kaye, Judge. Affirmed.

Gerald J. Miller, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews and Michael J Wise, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

EGERTON, J.

M.C was charged with murder and declared incompetent to stand trial. The Los Angeles County Office of the Public Guardian (the Public Guardian) petitioned for appointment as a Murphy conservator. At trial on the petition, the Public Guardian presented evidence that M.C. suffers from delusions, some of which involve violence against others. The jury found M.C. presents a substantial danger to others by reason of a mental disorder, and the court imposed a Murphy conservatorship. On appeal, M.C. argues the jury's verdict is not supported by substantial evidence, the court erroneously admitted his testimony from a prior trial, and the court should have declared a mistrial. We reject M.C.'s arguments and affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The murder charges

In December 2016, M.C. allegedly killed a man by repeatedly stabbing him in the chest with a pair of scissors. M.C. was 65 years old at the time. The People charged M.C. with murder, but a court found he was incompetent to stand trial. M.C. was admitted to Patton State Hospital (Patton), and a court issued an order for involuntary medication.

2. The Murphy conservatorship

In August 2018, the Public Guardian filed a petition for appointment as a Murphy conservator. A Murphy conservatorship is a type of civil commitment for gravely disabled individuals who are incompetent to stand trial on charges involving death or great bodily harm. (Welf. &Inst. Code, § 5361, subd. (a); see Conservatorship of A.A. (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 66, 68.)^[1] After a bench trial, the court found M.C. met the criteria for a Murphy conservatorship and appointed the Public Guardian as his conservator for a one-year term.

About a month before the end of the conservatorship, the Public Guardian filed a petition for re-appointment. At M.C.'s request, the case was tried to a jury in December 2021. M.C. testified on his own behalf. The jury found M.C. qualified for a Murphy conservatorship, and the court reappointed the Public Guardian as his conservator.

3. The present trial

The Public Guardian filed another request for reappointment, and the case was tried to a jury in 2022. At the trial, the parties stipulated that M.C. had a pending charge for violating Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a), a court found probable cause for the charge, and M.C. was found mentally incompetent to stand trial in that case. The only issue for the jury to decide was whether M.C. represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others by reason of a mental disease, defect, or disorder.

a. M.C.'s prior testimony

Over M.C.'s objection, the court allowed the Public Guardian to introduce into evidence portions of M.C.'s testimony from the December 2021 jury trial. The testimony included M.C.'s account of the incident that led to the murder charge.

M.C. testified he was sleeping under a bridge when the victim struck him in the head five times with "steel nunchuks." The victim said he would be back to kill M.C. because he" 'hate[s] Mexicans.'" M.C. grabbed a pair of sewing scissors to protect himself. The victim tried to punch M.C., but M.C. blocked the punch and stabbed the victim.

According to M.C., at that point, an "eight-foot tall tornado came in like Star Trek in the T.V." From the "whirlwind," a man named Hector stepped out of colored vapors and accused the victim of stealing his money. Hector took out a knife and stabbed the victim 12 or 13 times, but it did not kill him. M.C. said the victim "was in perfect health," not injured at all, and now runs a liquor store in Atwater Village.

M.C. testified that he had been hospitalized four times in the past. He also claimed he had been wrongly convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for breaking a man's hand with a tree branch. M.C. seemed to believe the People accused him of harming the victim using a photograph of the tree branch, rather than the branch itself.

b. M.C.'s treating psychiatrist

The Public Guardian presented testimony from M.C.'s treating psychiatrist at Patton, Jasdeep Aulakh. According to Aulakh, M.C. had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. His symptoms include disorganized thought processes, manic episodes, "odd, bizarre, kind of grandiose delusions, and persecutory thoughts." Among other delusions, M.C. claimed to be a multi-star general in the military, a law professor, and the owner of a baseball team.

Aulakh prescribed M.C. an atypical anti-psychotic medication at twice the maximum dosage that would be administered in an outpatient setting. Despite the medication, M.C. continued to suffer delusions and his mental health had not improved.

Aulakh testified that M.C. initially refused to allow staff to draw his blood to monitor his health and confirm he was taking his medication. After the hospital obtained a court order allowing staff to do so, M.C. agreed to give one vial of blood at a time, which was significantly less than Aulakh needed. Nevertheless, Aulakh did not press the issue because he did not want a confrontation with M.C., which he feared could place hospital staff in danger.

Aulakh reported that M.C. had recently fallen after a chair he was sitting in collapsed. For a "brief period of time" after the fall, M.C. used a walker and wheelchair. Since then, he had been walking "really well with a stable gait." Aulakh described M.C. as "quite able-bodied" and considered him a physical threat. Nevertheless, Patton staff designated M.C. a "fall risk" and placed him in the hospital's "frail unit."

According to Aulakh, M.C. had not had any physical altercations with other patients or staff at Patton. Aulakh explained that, because M.C. is physically imposing, the staff tried to avoid confrontations with him. Also, the staff who cared for him were trained to minimize the risks of confrontations with patients.

Aulakh opined it is "[h]ighly unlikely" that M.C. would comply with a medicine regiment outside the structured environment of Patton. He explained that M.C. claims he does not suffer from schizoaffective disorder and believes he does not need medication.

c. The Public Guardian's expert

In addition to M.C.'s treating physician, the Public Guardian presented expert testimony from a psychiatrist, Gordon Plotkin. Plotkin interviewed M.C. five times and performed a psychiatric evaluation of him. Plotkin agreed with M.C.'s treating physician that M.C. suffers from schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. Plotkin testified that M.C.'s symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and disorganized speech. Among other delusions, M.C. claimed he is the highest-ranking official in the military, a prosecutor in Monte Carlo, and a supreme court justice. He said he has authority to have people executed and the governor might ask him to murder someone. M.C. believed he would be shielded legally because of his military work.

Plotkin explained that schizoaffective disorder is a lifelong condition that cannot be cured, but it can be managed with anti-psychotic and mood stabilizing medications. The keys to managing M.C.'s condition are medication compliance and insight into mental illness. M.C. had no insight whatsoever into his symptoms and illness, despite having been hospitalized many times. M.C. told Plotkin he would stop taking his medication if given the choice because he would be better off without it.

Plotkin opined that M.C. presents a substantial danger of physical harm to others due to his mental illness. In support, he pointed to the fact that M.C. experiences delusions that drive him to commit violent acts.

Plotkin acknowledged that M.C. had not had any recent violent incidents, had been compliant with his medication, and was considered a "fall risk." Plotkin explained those facts did not change his opinion concerning M.C.'s dangerousness because they were "environment dependent." Plotkin noted that, since 2019, M.C. had been living in a high-security facility where he was closely supervised by forensically trained staff. He also noted that M.C. was considered a fall risk during a time he was "over-medicated." 4. Verdict and appeal

After deliberating for less than an hour, the jury found M.C. represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others by reason of a mental disease, defect, or disorder. It also found M.C. qualifies for a Murphy conservatorship. M.C. timely appealed.

DISCUSSION

1. Relevant law and standard of review

"The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Welf. &Inst. Code, § 5000 et seq....) authorizes the creation of renewable one-year conservatorships for persons who are gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder." (People v. Quiroz (2016) 244 Cal.App.4th 1371 1375-1376.) As relevant to this case, a person is "gravely disabled" if (1) the person has a pending felony case involving death or great bodily harm to another; (2) there has been a finding of probable cause at a preliminary examination; (3) as a result of a mental-health disorder, the person is unable to understand the nature and purpose of the...