Putnam

After a jury trial on a petition pursuant to Penal Code section 2970 (section 2970), appellant’s commitment as a mentally disordered offender (MDO) was extended. Appellant argues that the jury instructions were constitutionally defective, because they did not expressly require the jury to find that appellant had serious present difficulty controlling his behavior such that he presented a serious and well-founded risk of dangerous conduct. We hold that the jury instructions given in this case were sufficient to pass constitutional muster, and affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Appellant’s original commitment to Atascadero State Hospital (ASH) as an MDO was previously extended under section 2970 by an order that we affirmed in April 2002. (People v. Putnam (Apr. 23, 2002, A094631, A096428) [nonpub. opn.].) On December 18, 2002, the San Francisco District Attorney filed a subsequent petition to continue appellant’s involuntary treatment as an MDO to February 8, 2004. A jury trial on the petition was held in January 2003.

At the trial, ASH staff psychiatrist Dr. Lev Iofis testified that appellant had schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, which Iofis characterized…