Fields
People v. Fields
Opinion
Opinion
Aaron, J.
I.
INTRODUCTION
In November 2006, the People filed a petition pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA or the Act) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.) to commit Allen L. Fields to the State Department of Mental Health (the Department) for an indeterminate term of involuntary treatment. After a trial, a jury found that Fields was a sexually violent predator (SVP), and the court committed him to the Department for an indeterminate term.
On appeal, Fields contends that the SVPA, as amended in 2006, violates state and federal constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. He further claims that the trial court committed prejudicial error in limiting defense counsel’s ability to question the People’s expert witnesses with respect to the administration and results of a polygraph examination that was administered to Fields as part of his treatment.
We reject Fields’s constitutional claims. Further, we conclude that any error the court may have made in limiting defense counsel’s questioning of the People’s experts concerning the polygraph examination was harmless. We therefore affirm the judgment.
n.