San Diego County Department of Social Services v. Rand

Mark Rand appeals from an order awarding attorney fees and costs in the amount of $779.50 to his court-appointed counsel, Peter Singer. Rand asserts the trial court erred in (1) improperly conducting the hearing to determine his present ability to pay attorney fees; (2) failing to give him proper notice of this hearing; (3) reaching a determination not supported by substantial evidence; and (4) using an improper legal standard to calculate the amount of fees owed. We affirm.

Facts and Procedure

Mark Rand has a 12-year history of mental illness, which was first diagnosed while he was in the Army. He was discharged from the Army in 1984 because of his mental illness, and rated at 100 percent service-connected disabled. In June 1994, Rand voluntarily arrived at the La Jolla Veterans Administration Hospital. He was diagnosed as suffering from chronic paranoid schizophrenia.

Thereafter, a counselor in San Diego County mental health filed an ex parte petition for appointment of a temporary conservator and conservator-ship of the person, under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5354. The court sent Rand a form titled Citation for Conservatorship, giving him notice of the…