Sporich
Sporich v. Superior Court
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Yegan, J.
The Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) Act (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.) has no provision for discovery. 1 If the 1986 Civil Discovery Act has application in SVP proceedings, here there was no good cause for the trial court to order additional psychiataric interviews
Jack Sporich, a recidivist child molester, was about to be released from state prison in 1996 when the Director of Corrections determined that he might be a sexually violent predator within the meaning of the newly enacted statutory scheme. Two psychological evaluations were conducted in late 1996 and based thereon, the Ventura County District Attorney filed a SVP petition. Respondent court found that there was probable cause for the civil commitment and the matter was set for a jury trial.
Trial was continued several times at petitioner’s request while the constitutionality of the SVP Act was pending in other courts. The California Supreme Court upheld the statutory scheme in Hubbart v. Superior Court (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1138 [ 81 Cal.Rptr.2d 492 , 969 P.2d 584 ].
With a trial date imminent, the district attorney feared that the psychological evaluations of petitioner were no longer current. He moved…