People v. Superior Court (Ortiz)

It is a felony for any person to possess a controlled substance in or within the grounds of certain state institutions. (Pen. Code, § 4573.6.) Here we hold that the broad sweep of section 4573.6 includes state mental hospitals in which inmates, who have been transferred there for treatment pursuant to section 2684, are involuntarily confined under the custody of peace officers.

An employee of Atascadero State Hospital (ASH) was charged with a violation of section 4573.6 after methamphetamine allegedly was found in her purse while she was on hospital grounds. The charge was premised on the fact that ASH houses mentally ill inmates who have been transferred there for treatment pursuant to section 2684. The trial court granted defendant’s section 995 motion to dismiss the charge on its finding that section 2684 patients are not located under the custody of prison officials while they are being treated at ASH. The court also rejected the People’s contention that section 2684 patients are held under the custody of peace officers while undergoing treatment at ASH.

The People petitioned for a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order granting the section…