Opinion ID: 844216
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Regulatory Definition of Good Cause Is Invalid

Text: (5) It is well settled that the proper goal of statutory construction `is to ascertain and effectuate legislative intent, giving the words of the statute their usual and ordinary meaning. When the statutory language is clear, we need go no further. If, however, the language supports more than one reasonable interpretation, we look to a variety of extrinsic aids, including the objects to be achieved, the evils to be remedied, legislative history, the statutory scheme of which the statute is a part, contemporaneous administrative construction, and questions of public policy. ( In re Derrick B. (2006) 39 Cal.4th 535, 539 [47 Cal.Rptr.3d 13, 139 P.3d 485].)' ( Moran v. Murtaugh Miller Meyer & Nelson, LLP (2007) 40 Cal.4th 780, 783 [55 Cal.Rptr.3d 112, 152 P.3d 416].) ( People v. Ramirez (2009) 45 Cal.4th 980, 987 [89 Cal.Rptr.3d 586, 201 P.3d 466].) (6) Here, the statute was not clear on its face. Indeed, when these cases arose the Legislature provided no definition of good cause in section 6601.3. It has long been recognized that [t]he term `good cause' is not susceptible of precise definition. In fact, its definition varies with the context in which it is used. ( Zorrero v. Unemployment Ins. Appeals Bd. (1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 434, 439 [120 Cal.Rptr. 855].) Therefore, it is appropriate to resort to extrinsic sources to determine legislative intent and construe the applicable administrative regulations. (7) The Legislature provided that an inmate could be held beyond the release date upon a showing of good cause. (§ 6601.3.) Because the Legislature did not define what kind of showing would be sufficient to demonstrate the existence of good cause, it fell to the Board to define that term by regulation. When an administrative agency construes a statute in adopting a regulation or formulating a policy, the court will respect the agency interpretation as one of several interpretive tools that may be helpful. In the end, however, `[the court] must ... independently judge the text of the statute.' ( Yamaha Corp. of America v. State Board of Equalization (1998) 19 Cal.4th 1, 7-8 [78 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 960 P.2d 1031].) ( Agnew v. State Bd. of Equalization (1999) 21 Cal.4th 310, 322 [87 Cal.Rptr.2d 423, 981 P.2d 52]; accord, Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1094, 1106 [56 Cal.Rptr.3d 880, 155 P.3d 284].) We do not accord deference to an interpretation that is clearly erroneous. ( Bonnell v. Medical Board (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1255, 1265 [8 Cal.Rptr.3d 532, 82 P.3d 740]; Yamaha Corp. of America, supra, 19 Cal.4th at p. 14; People ex rel. Lungren v. Superior Court (1996) 14 Cal.4th 294, 309 [58 Cal.Rptr.2d 855, 926 P.2d 1042].) If a regulation does not properly implement the statute, the regulation must fail. (8) This regulation is deficient. It fails because it links good cause to the wrong showing. The showing required by section 6601.3 is not a demonstration of good cause to believe an inmate may be, or is likely to be, an SVP. Those questions are determined under section 6601, subdivisions (a)(1) and (b). Instead, the showing required under section 6601.3 is that good cause justifies a delay in filing the petition beyond the inmate's scheduled release date. This interpretation is supported by an examination of the legislative scheme itself. (9) By the time a request for a hold is filed, a preliminary determination that an inmate may be an SVP has already been made more than once. First, the DCR Secretary determines an inmate  may be a sexually violent predator. (§ 6601, subd. (a)(1), italics added.) This determination cannot be made arbitrarily, but must be based on some evidence. Upon the secretary's referral, the DCR and the Board perform a screening to determine whether the inmate is likely to be a sexually violent predator. (§ 6601, subd. (b), italics added.) Indeed, the statute requires that the process be conducted using a structured screening instrument developed and updated by the DMH in consultation with the DCR. ( Ibid. ) Again, the requirement of a determination implies that there is some evidence to support it. Logically, section 6601.3's provision for a hold beyond the scheduled release date requires a good cause showing different from those determinations required to put the process in motion in the first place. If the Board could find good cause for a 45-day hold based solely on a showing of some evidence that an inmate met the SVP criteria, the exception would swallow the rule. This conclusion is further supported by the legislative history of the amendment that made the good cause requirement a part of section 6601.3. (Stats. 2000, ch. 41, § 1, p. 129.) Section 6601.3 was first added to the SVP scheme in 1996. It originally empowered the Board to order that an inmate remain in custody for no more than 45 days to facilitate evaluation, but made no mention of a good cause showing. (Stats. 1996, ch. 4, § 2, p. 16.) According to a committee analysis, the purpose of the 2000 amendment was to clarify that an inmate referred to the [sexually violent predator] process may be detained 45 days beyond the scheduled release date, in order to cover situations in which an inmate's release date may be unexpectedly moved up, or when a parole revocation term allows insufficient time to complete the evaluation process. (Assem. Com. on Appropriations, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 451 (1999-2000 Reg. Sess.) Apr. 12, 2000, pp. 1-2, underscoring omitted.) The amendment clarified the Legislature's intent to authorize the grant of a hold if good cause could be shown. It can reasonably be inferred that the Legislature intended that the required showing justify the extension, which it had taken pains to make available, as an exception to the general requirement that a commitment petition be filed before the scheduled release date. (10) We emphasize that our construction of the term good cause is specific to this statutory framework. `When related to the context of the statute, good cause takes on the hue of its surroundings, and ... must be construed in the light reflected by its text and objectives.' ( Cal. Portland Cement Co. v. Cal. Unemp. Ins. Appeals Board (1960) 178 Cal.App.2d 263, 273 [3 Cal.Rptr. 37].) In Lucas, the Attorney General concedes the regulation is invalid. [10] In Sharkey, the district attorney claims it is valid. However, the district attorney fails to grapple with either the overall approach taken by the Legislature or section 6601.3's legislative history. The district attorney argues, in essence, that a good cause showing of need for a 45-day hold should not be required because to do so would prevent the Board from carrying out the legislative purpose of the SVPA. It is true that the SVPA was enacted to protect the public and provide treatment beyond an inmate's determinate prison commitment. (See generally Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th at p. 857; Hubbart v. Superior Court, supra, 19 Cal.4th at pp. 1143-1144 ( Hubbart ).) However, both the public and the inmate have interests at stake in an SVP proceeding. An inmate's individual interests include the limitations on liberty, stigma, and subjection to unwanted treatment consequent upon an SVP finding. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th at p. 863.) To allow the Board to place a 45-day hold without a showing that more time is legitimately required to complete an evaluation would deny an inmate these important liberty interests, and undermine the balance among competing interests the Legislature sought to achieve. The district attorney's analysis reads the statutes and regulation together as follows. Once determinations are made that an inmate may be an SVP (§ 6601, subd. (a)(1)) and that he or she is likely to be an SVP (§ 6601, subd. (b)), a petition must be filed before the inmate's scheduled release, plus 45 days. Good cause would support a 45-day extension in every case because every inmate referred for a full screening would, of necessity, have been found to meet the criteria applied in screenings under subdivisions (a)(1) and (b). Such an interpretation would allow the regulatory provision implementing the 45-day hold to completely vitiate the statutory requirement of filing before the release date except in limited circumstances.