Gram

This case tenders an issue concerning the appropriate procedure for challenging the administrative placement of a mentally disordered offender (MDO) who is recommitted to a facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) rather than to Napa State Hospital. We shall conclude that the appropriate procedure for testing the administrative placement of an MDO is a writ of habeas corpus.

Defendant Carey Lewan Gram, an MDO and involuntary civil committee, appeals from orders recommitting him to California State Prison, Sacramento (CSP-Sacramento) until January 6, 2010. 1 (Pen. Code, § 2972, subd. (c).) 2 He does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the court’s finding that he meets the definition of an MDO, or the court’s conclusion that he must be recommitted. Rather, he contends his continued placement in a facility under the jurisdiction of CDCR violates his statutory right to treatment in the least restrictive environment possible given the nature of his symptoms (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5325.1, subds. (a), (c)) and his federal constitutional right to substantive due process (U.S. Const., 14th Amend.). He also…