Warren David Rose, Jr. v. Stephen Mayberg, Director, California Department of Mental Health

We consider whether a habeas petition must be granted when a state court jury does not separately determine whether a sexually violent predator suffers from a mental condition that renders him dangerous beyond his control.

I

In 1982, Warren Rose — then serving in the United States Navy in Guam — committed violent sexual offenses against three eight-year-old girls. Rose was court-mart-ialed, pled guilty, and received a 13-year sentence in federal prison. He was paroled in 1990, having served seven years. Rose then violated the terms of his parole by contacting, hitting, and twice raping his ex-girlfriend. He was returned to federal prison for five years and was released in 1996. Less than a year later, Rose reof-fended, committing a lewd act on a seven-year-old girl he was babysitting. He was convicted in state court of committing a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14 and was sentenced to a term of three years in state prison.

In 1999, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office filed a petition to commit Rose involuntarily as a sexually violent predator (“SVP”) pursuant to California’s Sexually Violent Predator Act (“SVPA”). See CAL. WELF. & INST. CODE…