People v. Darnell CA2/6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Darnell I The trial court first certified appellant as an OMHD in 2004. The People filed a petition to recommit him in June 2020 (the June 2020 petition).2 (Pen. Code,3 § 2970.) The trial court granted the petition based in part on psychologist Brandi Mathews, Psy.D.’s opinion that appellant continued to represent a “substantial danger of physical harm to others.” (§ 2972, subd. (c).) We concluded in Darnell I that her opinions were based on treatment records and other hearsay documents the People did not offer into evidence. The record also revealed the trial court erred by allowing Dr. Mathews to recite case-specific hearsay facts while testifying. (People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665 (Sanchez). We reversed the recommitment order and remanded the case for further proceedings. Retrial on June 2020 Petition The parties disagreed about how to proceed on remand. The People sought retrial of the June 2020 petition. Appellant opposed retrial and sought to dismiss the petition as barred by the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel. The trial court found the People were entitled to a retrial. Dr. Mathews again testified, this time referring…