Hedge

Matthew Harvey Hedge appeals from a judgment ordering his two-year commitment to the custody of the state Department of Mental Health (DMH) following a jury finding he is a sexually violent predator (SVP) within the meaning of the Sexually Violent Predators Act (the Act) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.). He contends the trial court lacked jurisdiction to proceed on a second petition filed in 1998 to determine whether he is a person the Act defines as an SVP because the proceeding involving his first petition filed in 1996 is still pending review before our Supreme Court {People v. Hedge (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 773 [ 65 Cal.Rptr.2d 693 ], review granted Oct. 29, 1997 (S063954) {Hedge /)) and because he was not serving a valid parole revocation term at the time these current proceedings were instituted against him. Hedge also claims various instructional and evidentiary errors require reversal of his commitment and the SVP finding.

In the published portion of this opinion, we shall conclude the trial court had jurisdiction to proceed on Hedge’s second filed petition due to the nature of the commitment proceedings described by the Act which focus on the current mental…