People v. Lee C. (In re Estate of Lee C.)

*630 *1077 A Murphy conservatorship under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS or LPS Act) ( Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5000 et seq. ) may be established for criminal defendants who have been found incompetent to stand trial under Penal Code section 1370 ; have a pending information or indictment for a felony involving death, great bodily harm, or a serious threat to the physical well-being of another person; and are presently dangerous. ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5008, subd. (h)(1)(B) ; Conservatorship of Hofferber (1980) 28 Cal.3d 161 , 176-177, 167 Cal.Rptr. 854 , 616 P.2d 836 ( Hofferber ).) The claims in this case require that we discuss both the scope of the public guardian's discretion whether to petition and prosecute for a Murphy conservatorship and the trial court's authority to control and review the exercise of that discretion.

In 2014 a complaint charged Lee C. (L.C.) with corporal injury to a cohabitant. The trial court found L.C. incompetent to stand trial and committed him to a state hospital. After the state hospital reported he was unlikely to be restored to competency in the foreseeable future, his counsel requested a preliminary hearing pursuant to Penal Code section…