Mortimer

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

In 1996, the court found defendant Peter Freiderich Mortimer not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI) of assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a peace officer, and resisting arrest and committed him to the Department of Mental Health (Department) for treatment at Napa State Hospital (NSH). (Pen. Code, §§ 148, subd. (a), 242, 243, subd. (b), 245, subd. (a)(1), 1026.5, subd. (a).)1 Since then, his commitment has been extended five times. (§ 1026.5, subd. (b).) On May 18, 2011, before the last extension expired, the Santa Clara County District Attorney filed a petition to extend it again. At a pretrial hearing on September 9, 2011, defense counsel advised the court that defendant

1 ―Technically, once a defendant has been found not guilty by reason of insanity, he is no longer a criminal defendant, but a person subject to civil commitment.‖ (People v. Lara (2010) 48 Cal.4th 216, 222, fn. 5.) We shall refer to such persons as defendants or NGIs rather than ―committees‖ or ―persons committed.‖ All unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. wanted a bench trial. On October 20, 2011, after the trial, the court sustained the petition and extended…