Cheek

This case concerns the annual review hearing afforded defendants committed under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq. (Act)).

The Act provides for civil commitment for a renewable two-year term of criminal defendants who, after serving their prison term, are found to be “sexually violent predator[s].’’ (§ 6604.) Once so committed, a defendant is entitled to an annual review of his or her mental condition. (§ 6605.) Unless the defendant waives the right to petition for conditional release to a community treatment program (§ 6608), the superior court annually must conduct a “show cause hearing” to determine whether “probable cause exists to believe that the committed person’s diagnosed mental disorder has so changed that he or she is not a danger to the health and safety of others and is not likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior if discharged.” (§ 6605, subd. (c).) If the court finds probable cause, it orders a trial, by jury if requested, to determine if the defendant should be discharged. (§ 6605, subds. (c)-(d).)

At issue here is the meaning of the phrase “show cause hearing” in section 6605. The People contend that…