Lopez

Antonio Lopez appeals a judgment committing him to the California Department of Mental Health after a jury determined him to be a mentally disordered offender (MDO) within the meaning of Penal Code section 2970. We affirm.

I

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Previous Commitments

The MDO law (§§ 2960-2981) provides for the civil commitment of a person previously convicted and punished for a violent crime who, because of a severe mental disorder, represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others if released. The commitment is for one year and can be renewed annually as long as the disorder and the danger of harm exist. The committee is entitled to a jury trial, a unanimous verdict, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and appointed counsel if he or she is indigent. (§§ 2962, 2970, 2972; see generally In re Qawi (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1, 9 [ 7 Cal.Rptr.3d 780 , 81 P.3d 224 ].)

Prior to the present proceeding, Lopez was committed under the MDO law six successive times. All of these commitments, as well as the present one, were based on Lopez’s conviction in May 1995 for making a terrorist threat against his father’s girlfriend, Betty Shepherd. (See People v. Lopez…