Conservatorship of Rodney M.

Introduction

In Conservatorship of Roulet (1979) 23 Cal.3d 219 [ 152 Cal.Rptr. 425 , 590 P.2d 1 ], our Supreme Court held a jury must unanimously agree a person is gravely disabled before a conservator can be appointed under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Act or LPS Act). The court did not consider the issue we now address: Is jury unanimity required to find a person is not gravely disabled? For reasons we now explain, we hold such a finding can be supported by a three-fourths majority of the jury. Because the jury in this case found by a vote of 11 to 1 that Rodney M. was not gravely disabled, the trial court properly dismissed the petition to reappoint a conservatorship over him.

Procedural Background

William A. Baker, Orange County Public Guardian (Public Guardian), was appointed conservator of Rodney M. and his estate in 1990 and reappointed in that capacity on an annual basis until 1994. In that year, the Public Guardian petitioned for reappointment on the basis Rodney M. “is still gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism and is unwilling to accept or incapable of accepting treatment voluntarily.” The jury was unable…