Walker

Opinion of the Court by Cuéllar, J.

The Sexually Violent Predator Act (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq. (SVPA or the Act))1 allows the state to petition superior courts for the involuntary civil commitment of certain convicted sex offenders whose diagnosed mental disorders make them a significant danger to others and likely to reoffend after release from prison. The purpose of the SVPA is to protect the public from a select group of criminal offenders (sexually violent predators, or SVPs), and to provide these offenders with the necessary treatment for their mental disorders. (Hubbart v. Superior Ct. (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1138, 1143–1144 (Hubbart).) Consistent with this goal, the Act relies on a number of procedural safeguards to ensure that only those offenders predisposed to criminal sexual violence can be committed, and only for as long as they need treatment. Section 6602, subdivision (a) of the Act provides one such safeguard: It requires the superior court to hold a “probable cause hearing” as an initial step in the judicial process for commitment. (§ 6602, subd. (a).) If the court determines that probable cause supports the state’s petition, it must then hold an offender…