Conservatorship of Chambers

While I concur with the views expressed and the result reached by my colleagues, I feel compelled to voice my concern for the *289 impending, and in my opinion wholly unwarranted, application of procedural requirements á la Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 [ 23 L.Ed.2d 274 , 89 S.Ct. 1709 ], and In re Tahl, 1 Cal.3d 122, 135 [ 81 Cal.Rptr. 577 , 460 P.2d 449 ], to conservatorship proceedings under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (hereafter LPS).

As noted in the main opinion (ante, p. 286, fn. 14), under Probate Code section 1754.1, effective July 1, 1977, the court will be required to conduct a “voir dire” examination of the proposed conservatee, including an explanation “as to the nature and purpose of the proceeding, that the appointment of a conservator for his person and estate or person or estate is a legal adjudication of his inability properly to provide for his personal needs or 'manage his own financial resources or of his incompetency, the effect of such an adjudication on his basic rights, the identity of the person who has been nominated as his conservator, that he has right to oppose such proceeding, to have the matter tried by jury, and to be represented by legal…

In No. 39978, Brad Chambers (hereafter Chambers) appeals from an order granting the petition for appointment of a conservator, on the ground that he is gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder, pursuant to the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (hereafter LPS); 1 in Criminal No. 16233, Chambers seeks 2 a writ of habeas corpus in this court to obtain release from his allegedly unlawful confinement. In both of these consolidated proceedings, the major contentions are that: I) the statutory definition of “gravely disabled,” absent a finding of dangerousness as demonstrated *280 by an overt act, is an unconstitutionally vague and overbroad standard; 3 2) Chambers’ waiver of the right to a jury trial on the issue of his “grave disability” was constitutionally deficient. For the reasons set out below, we have concluded that the order appointing the conservator should be affirmed, and the petition for the writ of habeas corpus denied.

As the facts are not in dispute, a brief summaiy will suffice. Chambers, a life-long resident of Vallejo, California, was 24 years old at the time of the initiation of these proceedings on April 8, 1976. He did poorly in school…

In No. 39978, Brad Chambers (hereafter Chambers) appeals from an order granting the petition for appointment of a conservator, on the ground that he is gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder, pursuant to the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (hereafter LPS); [1] in Criminal No. 16233, Chambers seeks [2] a writ of habeas corpus in this court to obtain release from his allegedly unlawful confinement. In both of these consolidated proceedings, the major contentions are that: 1) the statutory definition of "gravely disabled," absent a finding of dangerousness as demonstrated by an overt act, is an unconstitutionally vague and overbroad standard; [3] 2) Chambers' waiver of the right to a jury trial on the issue of his "grave disability" was constitutionally deficient. For the reasons set out below, we have concluded that the order appointing the conservator should be affirmed, and the petition for the writ of habeas corpus denied.

As the facts are not in dispute, a brief summary will suffice. Chambers, a life-long resident of Vallejo, California, was 24 years old at the time of the initiation of these proceedings on April 8, 1976. He did…