Peoro

In these separate proceedings the People of the State of California and Roland Wood, Superintendent of the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) seek a stay of execution of three orders of the San Francisco Superior Court and one order of the Sonoma County Superior Court recommitting certain criminal defendants to the CRC after Superintendent Wood had ordered them excluded. Since the People are appealing all four cases to this court we will treat these four petitions as petitions for writs of supersedeas.

The three cases originating in San Francisco involved defendants Victor Peoro, Max Toscano and Norman Scott. Each of these defendants was committed to the CRC pursuant to the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code section 3051. Each case was then evaluated at the CRC pursuant to the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code section 3053 and each one was rejected by Superintendent Wood for “criminal history ... of assaultiveness” (Peoro), “excessive violence” (Toscano), and “excessive criminality and failure to respond to private programs” (Scott).

Each petitioner then sought and obtained a hearing in the San Francisco Superior Court to determine whether the…