In re Lerke

Filed 12/19/

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

In re JOHNATHON LERKE D084051

on (Super. Ct. Nos. CD292512 &

MH118518)

Habeas Corpus.

Petition for writ of habeas corpus. Petition denied as moot. Jo E. Super, Chief Deputy Public Defender, and Emily Rose-Weber, Deputy Public Defender, for Petitioner. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, A. Natasha Cortina and Alan L. Amann, Deputy Attorneys General, for Respondent. Claudia G. Silva, County Counsel, and Anjana Pottathil, Deputy County Counsel, for Respondent. The treatment of people with mental illness in our justice system is an ongoing source of concern for our lawmakers and the courts. Since at least 2010, there has been a persistent shortage of bed space at California’s state hospitals. (People v. Yang (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 120, 137; People v. Kareem A. (2020) 46 Cal.App.5th 58, 79; In re Mille (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 635, 638– 639.) In a series of cases, California courts have granted relief to defendants found incompetent to stand trial who were being…