P.

Fraisure Smith (appellant) appeals from an order denying his petition for conditional release or unconditional discharge under Welfare and Institutions Code section 6608, part of the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA). He contends the trial court erred in denying his petition without a hearing, concluding it was frivolous. We agree. The trial court’s order is reversed and the matter is remanded for further proceedings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Appellant was sentenced to a prison term after he entered a no contest plea to a charge of assault with intent to commit rape and admitted prior conviction and prior prison term allegations. (Pen. Code, §§ 220, 667.5, subd. (b), 1170.12.) Before his initial parole date, the Board of Parole Hearings imposed a 45-day no bail hold in order to conduct a sexually violent predator (SVP) evaluation, and the district attorney filed a petition alleging appellant was an SVP. In July 2010, a jury found the petition true, and the court committed appellant to the State Department of Mental Health (now State Department of State Hospitals) for an indeterminate period for appropriate treatment and confinement in a secure facility. He…