Murillo
Murillo v. Superior Court
Opinion
lead Opinion
Rylaarsdam, J.
—This petitionfor a writ of mandate arises from an action under Welfare and Institutions Code section 6600 et seq. (Sexually Violent Predator Act; the Act) to have petitioner Richard Murillo civilly committed as a sexually violent predator. We are asked to determine whether the district attorney may propound requests for admissions, which, if admitted, might eliminate the state’s burden to prove the ultimate issues in the case.
Earlier cases have held that certain types of discovery under the Civil Discovery Act (Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.010 et seq.) apply to actions under the Act. As a matter of first impression, however, we hold that requests for admissions may not be propounded in proceedings under the Act because *734 their use would eviscerate the Act’s requirement that the state prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and, where the case is tried to a jury, obtain a unanimous verdict before a person may be committed. To relieve the state of this burden would deprive a person of liberty interests in violation of the right to due process.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In 2001 the San Bernardino District Attorney filed a petition seeking to have petitioner civilly…