Garcia

In this case we hold that district attorneys are not independently empowered to initiate civil commitment proceedings under Penal Code section 2970, part of the Mentally Disordered Offender Act (hereafter MDO Act; § 2960 et seq.). Instead, district attorneys may only initiate such proceedings when the director of the facility or program providing the prisoner’s treatment, or the Director of Corrections, states in a written evaluation in accordance with section 2970 that the prisoner’s severe mental disorder is not in remission, or cannot be kept in remission without treatment.

The director of the facility providing defendant’s treatment recommended in writing that civil commitment proceedings under section 2970 not be pursued because the treating staff concluded defendant’s severe mental disorder was in remission. Therefore, the district attorney in this case lacked statutory authority to file a petition and initiate involuntary civil commitment under section 2970 of the MDO Act. The trial court, in turn, lacked jurisdiction to proceed on that petition and, therefore, should have granted defendant’s motion to dismiss. Accordingly, we will reverse the civil commitment…