Dasher

We deal here with the mechanism to extend the commitment of a mentally disordered sex offender (MDSO). Morris Lee Dasher challenges his latest recommitment as an MDSO on constitutional grounds and on the basis of instructional error.

Facts

On August 6, 1973, Dasher pled guilty to one count of forcible oral copulation of a 13-year-old girl and one count of kidnapping (Pen. Code, §§ 288a, 207). On September 6, 1973, the superior court found Dasher to be an MDSO, and, pursuant to former Welfare and Institutions Code section 6316, he was committed to the state Department of Mental Health for confinement in Atascadero State Hospital. On September 26, 1977, the community release board fixed Dasher’s maximum date of confinement as May 5, 1979. In 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1984, Dasher’s commitment was extended pursuant to section 6316.2.

Most recently, on January 26, 1986, the district attorney filed a petition to extend Dasher’s commitment as an MDSO pursuant to section 6316.2 for an additional two years. The superior court appointed psychiatrists to examine Dasher (§§ 6316.2, subd. (e), 6307), and thereafter a jury trial was held.

The trial court took judicial notice of the…