Conservatorship of A.A.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

Because only a narrow legal question is presented in this appeal, we briefly summarize the proceedings below. After A.A. drove drunk and killed another driver in January 2020, he was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subd. (a)) and other offenses, along with various enhancements. A month after the incident, and while represented by counsel, he pleaded no contest to all charges. As part of the plea, he stipulated there was a factual basis for the plea based on a defense investigation. He also knowingly, intelligently, freely, and voluntarily waived his rights, and his appointed counsel joined in the waiver. The trial court then found him guilty, and a hearing was scheduled for mid- March to receive a report from the probation department. Proceedings were suspended, however, when A.A.’s counsel declared a doubt as to A.A.’s competency. In April 2020, A.A. was found to be incompetent (Pen. Code, § 1370), and he was later committed to the state hospital in Napa. About a year after his commitment, the hospital’s interim medical director submitted a report to the court indicating that there was no…