People v. Williams

I. Introduction

In May 1997, after a trial, defendant John T. Williams, Jr., was committed to Atascadero State Hospital (ASH) for one year of involuntary treatment under the Mentally Disordered Prisoners Act (MDPA), Penal Code section 2960 et seq. The MDPA requires a court to commence trial at least 30 days before a defendant is scheduled for release from parole unless he or she waives time or the court finds good cause. Here, trial commenced after defendant’s scheduled release date. Although defendant did not object to the trial date, he did not waive time; nor did the court hold a hearing on the issue of good cause or make an express finding that there was good cause for the delay in commencing trial.

We hold that the trial court’s failure to comply with the statutory procedure concerning commencement of trial did not divest it of fundamental jurisdiction to proceed, and we further hold that defendant’s failure to object to the trial date waived any claim of error based on noncompliance with the procedure. We also hold that the trial court did not automatically lose jurisdiction to proceed after defendant’s scheduled release date.

II. Statement of the Case

In…