Jarakian

Dean Jarakian, a developmentally disabled person, who was a patient in Patton State Hospital at the time these proceedings were commenced, appeals from an order of the superior court committing him to the State Department of Health for suitable care and treatment pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 6514. 1 Appellant *160 attacks his commitment on numerous grounds as follows: (1) the statute under which he was committed is unconstitutionally vague (i.e., it fails to give fair warning of the conduct proscribed by law), (2) the statute is overbroad so as to authorize punishment for status, (3) the statutory procedure under which developmentally disabled persons who are residents of a state hospital may be committed denies such persons equal protection of the laws in violation of their federal and state constitutional rights, and (4) prior to commitment such persons are entitled to a hearing on “the least restrictive placement” by both statutory and constitutional mandate.

Because we conclude that the statutory procedure under which appellant was committed violates the equal protection provisions of the state and federal Constitutions (Cal. Const., art. I, § 7,…