Court Opinion

ID: 9790932
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:01:32.763539+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:32.166191
License: Public Domain

BIRD, C. J.
I respectfully dissent for I cannot agree to the restrictions placed by the majority on the great writ of habeas corpus.
The Superior Court of San Joaquin County properly granted habeas corpus relief to Gandolfo. The court acted within the scope of its jurisdiction *901when it found that Gandolfo was “not gravely disabled to the extent that he need be maintained in a locked institution” and ordered placement in a less restrictive facility. The wisdom of the court’s order is borne out by Gandolfo’s successful adaptation to life in a smaller, less restrictive facility closer to the homes of his mother and father.1
Nevertheless, the majority deprive Gandolfo and other gravely disabled conservatees of their right to habeas corpus release from unnecessarily restrictive mental facilities. In doing so, the practical realities are ignored which favor allowing the superior court of the county in which the petitioner is confined to determine proper placement.
Instead, a 44-year-old guardianship case in which a ward was denied habeas corpus relief is cited as authority for this ruling. (Browne v. Superior Court (1940) 16 Cal.2d 593 [107 P.2d 1, 13 A.L.R. 276].) In so doing, the majority promote outmoded principles of jurisdiction and venue. The majority also rely on Browne for the proposition that habeas corpus relief may not be had where adequate alternative remedies are available. Alternative forms of relief were found to be adequate in Browne. However, these alternatives did not suffer from the restrictions on the frequency of use found in our case. (Browne v. Superior Court, supra, 16 Cal.2d at p. 601.)
Most importantly, the majority fail to address Gandolfo’s claim that Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act conservatees are denied equal protection of the law. Similarly situated persons are permitted unrestricted resort to simple and effective habeas corpus procedures in the superior court of the county in which they are confined. However, LPS conservatees are required to use burdensome and infrequent proceedings in the conservatorship court to challenge the restrictiveness of their confinement. The great writ of habeas corpus should not be so limited.
I.
As a gravely disabled conservatee, Gandolfo is entitled under the LPS Act to “the least restrictive residential placement available and necessary to achieve the purposes of treatment.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5358, subd. (c);2 Foy v. Greenblott (1983) 141 Cal.App.3d 1, 10-11 [190 Cal.Rptr. *90284].)3 Similarly, as a developmentally disabled person, he is entitled to care that will “protect [his] personal liberty” and provide “the least restrictive conditions necessary to achieve the purposes of treatment.” (§ 4502, subd. (a); In re Hop (1981) 29 Cal.3d 82, 93 [171 Cal.Rptr. 721, 623 P.2d 282]; In re Borgogna (1981) 121 Cal.App.3d 937, 940-941 [175 Cal.Rptr. 788].)
The Superior Court of San Joaquin County gave effect to these important rights when it granted habeas corpus relief. The majority mistakenly assume, however, that the court’s action “flew directly in the face of the Orange County court’s determination as to a proper placement of Gandolfo . . . .” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 896.) In fact, there was no inconsistency between the initial placement determination and the release order three months later. As Judge Dozier of the San Joaquin County court explained, the release order was based on Gandolfo’s condition at the time of the habeas corpus proceeding.
Nor was Gandolfo’s proper placement a matter “ ‘exclusively within the jurisdiction of the [Orange County] court, and outside the scope of the writ of habeas corpus. ’ ” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 896.) The majority’s reliance for this proposition on Browne v. Superior Court, supra, 16 Cal.2d 593 is misplaced. First, a constitutional amendment adopted after the Browne decision provides the superior courts with statewide jurisdiction. (See maj. opn., ante, at p. 900.) Second, in virtually every area touching the mentally and developmentally disabled, comprehensive new statutory schemes have been enacted since the time of Browne. These statutes govern involuntary commitment to state hospitals and other mental health facilities. (See Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, § 4500 et seq.; LPS Act, § 5000 et seq.; see also Prob. Code, § 1400 et seq.) These statutes also provide expressly that challenges to the restrictiveness of a placement may be made by petition for writ of habeas corpus in the superior court of the county in which the hospital is located. (§§ 4801, 7250.)
Such challenges are proper even if the commitment was authorized by the superior court of another county and even if the committing court retains *903jurisdiction. For example, a dangerous mentally retarded adult committed to a state hospital may obtain habeas corpus relief in the county of confinement. (§ 4801.)4 That court may order placement in a less restrictive facility. (Ibid.) However, the committing court retains jurisdiction. A decision by the Department of Developmental Services to change the same placement is subject to the committing court’s approval. (See § 6509.)5 Thus, the Legislature has seen fit to provide for habeas corpus jurisdiction in the court of the county of confinement despite the continuing jurisdiction of the committing court.6
The Browne court held that the right to a hearing in the committing court was an adequate alternative to habeas corpus relief. (See 16 Cal.2d at p. 601.) The majority conclude that the present case is indistinguishable from Browne. That conclusion is questionable. There was no restriction on the frequency with which the ward in Browne could exercise the right to a hearing in the committing court. (See former Prob. Code, § 1470, enacted by Stats. 1931, ch. 281, § 1470, p. 673, repealed by Stats. 1979, ch. 726, § 1, p. 2334.)7 Here, by contrast, the rights of an LPS conservatee to a *904hearing in the conservatorship court under sections 5358.3 and 5364 may be exercised only once every six months.
There is an additional factor weighing in favor of jurisdiction and venue in the San Joaquin County court. The Orange County court adjudged Gandolfo to be both developmentally disabled and gravely disabled.8 While most lay people have considerable difficulty in understanding and exercising their rights to petition the courts for relief, even the simplest of procedures may present an insurmountable challenge to a person with Gandolfo’s mental disabilities. (See Doe v. Gallinot (9th Cir. 1981) 657 F.2d 1017, 1023.)
Under sections 4800 and 4801, a developmentally disabled adult may initiate habeas corpus proceedings by making a simple request for release to a hospital staff member. Even a nonverbal indication of desire to leave is treated as a request for release under the Release Procedures Manual used by state hospital personnel in such cases. (See In re Hop, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 88.)
By contrast, in order to obtain a rehearing as to a conservatee’s status or rights—including the right to placement in a less restrictive setting—an EPS conservatee must file a petition in the superior court which established the conservatorship. (See §§ 5358.3, 5364.) As in this case, that court and the conservatee’s appointed counsel may be hundreds of miles away. Unlike the habeas corpus mechanism provided by sections 4800 and 4801, neither process may be triggered by a simple request for release made to a readily accessible hospital staff member who is charged with a statutory duty to act upon that request.
It is unreasonable to place such a burden upon an individual who has been found to be unable to provide for his or her own basic personal needs. As this court has observed in an analogous context, “[I]t must be kept in mind . . . that we are dealing with persons who have been committed to state hospitals for mental disorders rendering them incompetent to participate in their own defense. It seems clearly inappropriate to place upon such persons the burden of initiating proceedings to secure their freedom.” (In re Davis (1973) 8 Cal.3d 798, 806-807, fn. 6 [106 Cal.Rptr. 178, 505 P.2d 1018].)
Gandolfo claims that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief in San Joaquin County under two provisions of the Welfare and Institutions Code. First, he claims a right to relief pursuant to section 4800. Under section 4800, “[e]very adult who is or has been admitted or committed to a state hospital ... as a developmentally disabled patient [has] a right to a hearing by writ *905of habeas corpus for his release from the hospital. . . after he or any person acting on his behalf makes a request for release to any member of the staff of the state hospital . . . .” Upon such a request, the hospital staff member and medical director must promptly complete a “request for release” form and notify the patient’s parent or conservator and the superior court for the county in which the state hospital is located. (§ 4800.) The superior court is then required to notify the patient of his or her right to counsel. (§ 4801.) If necessary, the court must appoint counsel to assist in the preparation of a petition for writ of habeas corpus and to represent the patient in the proceedings. (Ibid.)
This court has held that habeas corpus is the appropriate means for a developmentally disabled adult to challenge his or her confinement in a state hospital. (In re Hop, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 86 [construing § 4800 and Pen. Code, § 1474].) Appellant Heim does not question this rule, but contends that sections 4800 and 4801 are inapplicable here since Gandolfo was not committed to Stockton State Hospital as developmentally disabled, but rather as gravely disabled.
That contention is without merit. The Orange County court found that Gandolfo was both developmentally disabled and gravely disabled. The court ordered that Gandolfo be placed in Stockton State Hospital, a facility which the Legislature has designated for the treatment of developmentally disabled persons (§§4416, 4440) but not for the treatment of gravely disabled persons (see § 7200).9 Further, sections 4800 and 4801 provide for notice to and participation by a conservator in habeas corpus proceedings. The fact that these provisions were added in 1977, 10 years after the enactment of the LPS conservatorship scheme (§ 5350 et seq.) indicates that they were intended to refer not only to probate conservators (see Prob. Code, § 1800 et seq.) but also to LPS conservators. (Estate of McDill (1975) 14 Cal.3d 831, 837 [122 Cal.Rptr. 754, 537 P.2d 874].)
Gandolfo also claims a right to habeás corpus relief under section 7250.10 That section provides that any person who has been “committed” to a state *906hospital is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus upon proper application to the superior court of the county in which the hospital is located. Heim argues that section 7250 does not apply since Gandolfo was not “committed” within the meaning of the statute. Instead, Heim argues that Gandolfo was a voluntary patient.
This argument strains credulity. “Although the LPS conservatee is, by statute, a voluntary patient, other California statutes acknowledge that he is, in reality, an involuntary patient, detained in the mental treatment facility because of a decision by his conservator. . . . [I]n 1976 the California Legislature enacted statutes declaring that involuntary civil mental health treatment for incompetent wards and probate conservatees may be obtained only through [the] LPS [Act]. The statutes enumerated the specific provisions of [the] LPS [Act] that were applicable to involuntary hospitalization and included the LPS conservatorship provisions within the prescribed list.” (Morris, Conservatorship for the “Gravely Disabled”: California’s Non-declaration of Nonindependence (1978) 15 San Diego L.Rev. 201, 219, citing Stats. 1976, ch. 1357, §§ 14 & 29, which amended Prob. Code, §§ 1500 & 1754; see also § 5326.7 [placing restrictions on the administration of convulsive treatment to “an involuntary patient, including anyone under . . . conservatorship . . . .”].) Further, this court has recognized that one power which may be granted to a conservator under the provisions of the LPS Act is “the power to involuntarily commit a conservatee to a state mental institution . . . .” (Conservatorship ofRoulet (1979) 23 Cal.3d 219, 221 [152 Cal.Rptr. 425, 590 P.2d 1], italics added.)
Accordingly, a developmentally and gravely disabled LPS conservatee confined in a state hospital is entitled under sections 4800, 4801 and 7250 to pursue a writ of habeas corpus in the superior court for the county in which the conservatee is confined. The majority’s failure to address, much less follow, these legislative mandates is most unfortunate.
II.
Even if we were to assume for the sake of argument that neither statutory provision applies, Gandolfo’s right to habeas corpus relief in the county of confinement is compelled by the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law.
This court has characterized the right to personal liberty as a “fundamental interest.” (People v. Olivas (1976) 17 Cal.3d 236, 251 [131 Cal.Rptr. 55, 551 P.2d 375].) Habeas corpus has been denominated “the Great Writ.” (Caroo v. United States (1961) 364 U.S. 611, 615 [5 L.Ed.2d 329, 333, 81 S.Ct. 338].) It is undisputed that Gandolfo’s fundamental liberty interest *907is at stake in his challenge to the restrictiveness of his confinement in a locked state hospital unit.
“[I]n reviewing statutorily created classification schemes which affect fundamental interests the burden rests upon the state to establish that ‘it has a “compelling interest” which justifies the challenged procedure and that the distinctions drawn by the procedure are necessary to further that interest.’” (In re Hop, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 89.) Adults facing involuntary hospitalization as LPS conservatees (§ 5358) and as developmentally disabled persons (§ 4825) are “similarly situated” for purposes of equal protection analysis. (In re Hop, supra, 29 Cal.3d atpp. 87, 92-94.) Each group is constitutionally entitled to “the same congeries of [procedural] rights” possessed by the other. (See id., at pp. 93-94.) Developmentally disabled persons hospitalized at the request of conservators have a right to habeas corpus relief pursuant to sections 4800 and 4801.
Accordingly, the state must demonstrate a compelling state interest which justifies denying LPS conservatees that same right. (See In re Hop, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 89; Conservatorship of Hofferber (1980) 28 Cal.3d 161, 171, fn. 8 [167 Cal.Rptr. 854, 616 P.2d 836]; In re Moye (1978) 22 Cal.3d 457, 465 [149 Cal.Rptr. 491, 584 P.2d 1097].) It must also show that the distinctions drawn between the remedies afforded LPS conservatees and other persons civilly committed to state hospitals are necessary to further that interest. (See People v. Olivas, supra, 17 Cal.3d at p. 251; In re Moye, supra, 22 Cal.3d at p. 465.)
The state has not met its burden. Both the conservator and the majority assert that the state has an interest in preserving the jurisdiction of the Orange County Superior Court over Gandolfo’s conservatorship. However, the San Joaquin Superior Court did not interfere with that interest when it found, three months later, that Gandolfo was ready for life in a setting less restrictive than a locked state hospital ward.
Nor is there any justification for restricting LPS conservatees to two hearings per year in a court that may be hundreds of miles from the hospital in which they are confined. That limited remedy is obviously not at all comparable to the unrestricted right to pursue habeas corpus which is accorded developmentally disabled probate conservatees (§§ 4800, 4801; Prob. Code, § 1800 et seq.) and dangerous mentally retarded persons (§§ 4800, 4801, 6500). If anything, a person suffering from a grave disability due to a mental disorder is more likely to experience rapid improvement under treatment than a person with a developmental disability which by definition is “expected to continue, indefinitely . . . .” (Prob. Code, § 1420.) Thus, *908the need for ready access to a nearby court to establish eligibility for a less restrictive placement is paramount.
III.
Both the Legislature and the Constitution require that an LPS conservatee be given unrestricted access to habeas corpus relief in the county of confinement. The majority would limit that right contrary to the Legislature’s intent and the people’s will as enunciated in the Constitution. I cannot agree. The trial court’s order should be affirmed.

In the briefs, Gandolfo asserted that he has “thrived” in his new placement. Appellant has not challenged this assertion.

Except as otherwise noted, all statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

The majority characterize the least restrictive placement requirement as “an important legislative policy.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 898.) While that description is accurate (see § 5358, as amended by Stats. 1980, ch. 681, § 2, p. 2066, quoted in maj. opn., ante, at fn. 8), it does not tell the whole story. Numerous courts have found that the right to the least restrictive conditions of institutional treatment is constitutionally mandated by the due process clause of the federal Constitution. (See Foy v. Greenblott, supra, 141 Cal.App.3d at p. 10, fn. 2 and cases there cited; Hoffman & Foust, Least Restrictive Treatment of the Mentally Ill: A Doctrine in Search of Its Senses (1977) 14 San Diego L.Rev. 1100, 1102-1103, fn. 2; Burgdorf & Burgdorf, A History of Unequal Treatment: The Qualifications of Handicapped Persons as a ‘‘Suspect Class” under the Equal Protection Clause (1975) 15 Santa Clara Law. 855, 893.)

Section 4801 provides in relevant part: “Judicial review shall be in the superior court for the county in which the state hospital ... is located. . . .
“The court may order the release of an adult who is committed pursuant to Section 6500 based on a finding of mental retardation and danger to self or others if the court finds that there is no longer a basis for finding the adult a danger to self or others or the court may order the placement of the adult into a less restrictive more appropriate alternative placement but shall continue the order of commitment.”

Section 6509 provides in relevant part: “If the Department of Developmental Services decides that a change in placement is necessary, it shall notify in writing the court of commitment ... of such decision at least 15 days in advance of the proposed change in placement. The court may hold a hearing and (1) approve or disapprove of the change, or (2) take no action in which case the change shall be deemed approved.” (Italics added.)

A similar conclusion obtains as to section 7250. That section provides implicitly for venue in the county of confinement: “All documents requested by the court in the county of confinement shall be forwarded from the county of commitment to such court. Upon the return of the writ, the truth of the allegations under which [the patient] was committed shall be inquired into and determined.”
The majority’s reliance on Griggs v. Superior Court (1976) 16 Cal.3d 341 [128 Cal.Rptr. 223, 546 P.2d 727] is misplaced. Griggs requires the transfer of a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging a particular judgment or sentence to the court which rendered the judgment. (Id., at p. 347.) However, a challenge to the conditions of confinement must be heard in the county of confinement. (Ibid.) Gandolfo’s petition falls into the latter category. Furthermore, the habeas corpus applications in Griggs, unlike Gandolfo’s, were not made pursuant to statutory provisions which expressly provide for venue in the county of confinement.

In 1940, the year of the Browne decision, former Probate Code section 1470 provided: “Any person who has been declared insane, or for whom a guardian has been appointed as an insane or incompetent person, or the guardian, or any relative or friend, may apply, by petition, to the superior court of the county in which such person was declared insane, or from which letters of guardianship were issued, to have the fact of his restoration to capacity judicially determined. The petition must be verified, and must state that such person is then sane or competent.”

Gandolfo has an I.Q. of 45.

Metropolitan State Hospital and Atascadero State Hospital are the only facilities designated for the care, treatment, and education of the “mentally disordered," a category which includes the gravely disabled. (See ibid.; § 5008, subd. (h).)

Section 7250 states: “Any person who has been committed is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus, upon a proper application made by the State Department of Mental Health or the State Department of Developmental Services, by such person, or by a relative or friend in his behalf to the judge of the superior court of the county in which the hospital is located. All documents requested by the court in the county of confinement shall be forwarded from the county of commitment to such court. Upon the return of the writ, the truth of the allegations under which he was committed shall be inquired into and determined. The medical history of the person as it appears in the clinical records shall be given in evidence, and the superintendent in charge of the state hospital wherein the person is held in custody and any other person who has knowledge of the facts shall be sworn and shall testify relative to the mental condition of the person.”