Lara

*221 Opinion

Defendant David Alan Lara was tried for false imprisonment of a child, found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI), and committed to a state hospital. A petition to extend his commitment was filed so late that he did not have adequate time to prepare for trial before his term ended. There was no good cause for the late filing. His motion to dismiss the petition on due process grounds was denied, and he was recommitted.

We hold: (1) The statutory deadline for filing an extension petition is directory, not mandatory, so long as the petition is filed before the expiration of the current commitment. (2) Defendant was not entitled to a dismissal of this petition. (3) Upon motion, he would have been entitled, under due process, to release pending trial, subject to possible proceedings under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act). 1 (4) Defendant is not now eligible for release, however, because the court retained jurisdiction to try him and he received a fair trial.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity is committed to a state hospital or other treatment facility, unless sanity has been fully restored. 2 If the court…

I concur in the judgment reversing the Court of Appeal. I write separately because I disagree with the analysis contained in the majority opinion.

David Alan Lara was the subject of a petition to extend his commitment under Penal Code section 1026.5, subdivision (b)(10), after having been found not guilty by reason of insanity of falsely imprisoning a child at knifepoint. The People filed the petition prior to the expiration of Lara’s maximum term of commitment but failed to satisfy the requirement that the petition be filed “no later than 90 days before the expiration of the original commitment unless good cause is shown” (Pen. Code, § 1026.5, subd. (b)(2)) and the requirement that the trial commence “no later than 30 calendar days prior to the time the person would otherwise have been released, unless that time is waived by the person or unless good cause is shown” (Pen. Code, § 1026.5, subd. (b)(4)).

Defendant argues that the violation of these time limits deprived the trial court of jurisdiction to proceed on the petition to extend his commitment. Yet, as Penal Code section 1026.5 itself says, “The time limits of this section are not jurisdictional.” (Pen. Code, § 1026.5,…

Defendant David Alan Lara was tried for false imprisonment of a child, found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI), and committed to a state hospital. A petition to extend his commitment was filed so late that he did not have adequate time to prepare for trial before his term ended. There was no good cause for the late filing. His motion to dismiss the petition on due process grounds was denied, and he was recommitted.

(1) We hold: (1) The statutory deadline for filing an extension petition is directory, not mandatory, so long as the petition is filed before the expiration of the current commitment. (2) Defendant was not entitled to a dismissal of this petition. (3) Upon motion, he would have been entitled, under due process, to release pending trial, subject to possible proceedings under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act). [1] (4) Defendant is not now eligible for release, however, because the court retained jurisdiction to try him and he received a fair trial.

(2) A defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity is committed to a state hospital or other treatment facility, unless sanity has been fully restored. [2] If the court orders such a commitment,…