Fresno County Public Guardian v. Super. Ct.
Opinion
Opinion
I.
BACKGROUND
This writ petition arises out of three misdemeanor cases in
which real party in interest, Rodolfo Luna, is charged with elder
abuse, resisting arrest, and indecent exposure. When doubts arose
about Luna’s competence to stand trial, the trial court suspended
criminal proceedings. The trial court ordered Luna to be evaluated
by a psychologist for mental competency pursuant to Penal Code
section 1368. Luna’s cases were then calendared in the mental
health treatment court. In her report dated January 16, 2022, Tamar
Kenworthy, Psy.D., opined Luna was incompetent to stand trial.
On January 21, 2022, the mental health treatment court found
that Luna was incompetent and not suitable for diversion under
section 1001.36, subdivision (b)(1)(D). The treatment court
referred the matter to petitioner for an LPS conservatorship based
on the opinion of Amanda Rosen, a utilization review specialist for
to the court on the court’s own motion under the California Rules of Court, rules 8-1000 – 8.1018. 2 Further undesignated references to sections are to the Penal Code.
-2- the Fresno County Department of Behavioral…