People v. Briggs CA1/4

BACKGROUND

After Briggs was found incompetent to stand trial and committed to the Department, the Department filed a petition for

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1 an order to compel involuntary treatment of Briggs with antipsychotic medication under the procedures set forth in section 1370, subdivisions (a)(2)(C) and (a)(2)(D).2 The petition included the required certification from Briggs’s treating psychiatrist, who certified that involuntary medication was required and warranted under section 1370, subdivision (a)(2)(B)(i)(I) and (II). The petition followed an August 2, 2023 medication review hearing, at which an administrative law judge ordered that temporary involuntary antipsychotic medication be administered to Briggs. The trial court held a hearing on the Department’s petition and heard testimony from Briggs’s treating psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital, Dr. Joshua Deane. The court qualified Deane as an expert in psychiatric treatment of medical illness, and Deane testified that his job entailed taking care of patients in the units at the hospital, diagnosing their problems, and prescribing proper medication to improve their mental state. After…