People v. Chavez CA4/1

DISCUSSION

Chavez’s appointed appellate counsel has filed a brief under the authority of Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436 and Anders, supra, 386 U.S. 738, setting forth a statement of the case and a summary of the facts and procedural history. Counsel raised no specific issues on appeal and instead sought to distinguish this case from In re Conservatorship of Ben C. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 529 (Ben C.). This court generally follows People v. Taylor (2008) 160 Cal.App.4th 304 (Taylor), and dismisses such appeals because the procedures set forth in Wende and Anders for criminal defendants do not apply to an extension of a civil commitment under the OMHD statute. (§ 2960 et seq.) The Supreme Court has held that the Anders/Wende independent review procedures do not apply to civil commitments under the Lanterman- Petris-Short Act (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5000 et seq.). (Ben C., supra, 40 Cal.4th at p. 539.) The Second District in Taylor concluded the Wende/Anders procedures likewise do not apply to OMHD commitment cases. (Taylor, supra, 160 Cal.App.4th at p. 308.) Chavez’s counsel cites Taylor but does not discuss its holding or applicability to this matter.

3 In Taylor, the court discussed Ben…