People v. Morris CA2/3

BACKGROUND

I. The Act

The Act “allows for the involuntary commitment of certain convicted sex offenders, whose diagnosed mental disorders make them likely to reoffend if released at the end of their prison terms.” (Cooley v. Superior Court (2002) 29 Cal.4th 228, 235.) A sexually violent predator (SVP) is “a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense against one or more victims and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that it is likely that he or she will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.” (§ 6600, subd. (a)(1).) The “ ‘mental disorder’ ” prong of the Act “requires a diagnosed mental disorder affecting the person’s emotional or volitional capacity that predisposes the person to commit sex crimes in a menacing degree,” and “implies ‘serious difficulty’ in controlling behavior.” (People v. Williams (2003) 31 Cal.4th 757, 776 (Williams).) A person who is declared an SVP is committed to the SDSH for treatment. (§ 6604.) The Act

1 All further undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2 is “not punitive in purpose or effect,” and a commitment…