Leake

The People have commenced proceedings for the commitment of Terry Joseph Leake to a secure mental health facility pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA). (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.; further section references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise specified.) Leake moved for a court order directing the exchange of expert witness information as a preliminary step toward deposing the People’s two psychiatric experts. The People responded by requesting a protective order on the ground that Leake’s motion was untimely. Concluding that civil discovery is not applicable in SVPA proceedings, the superior court denied Leake’s motion. Hence, the court did not rule on the People’s request for a protective order.

Leake now seeks a writ of mandate to compel the respondent superior court to grant his discovery motion. While appellate courts usually do not provide extraordinary relief concerning a pretrial discovery order, writ review is appropriate in this case because Leake has identified a significant issue of first impression and because the effect of the order is to deny him discovery to which he may be entitled. (Wagner v. Superior Court…