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California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 1370.02

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) If the defendant is found mentally competent during a postrelease community supervision or parole revocation hearing, the revocation proceedings shall resume. The formal hearing on the revocation shall occur within a reasonable time after resumption of the proceedings, but in no event may the defendant be detained in custody for over 180 days from the date of arrest.

(b) If the defendant is found mentally incompetent, the court shall dismiss the pending revocation matter and return the defendant to supervision. If the revocation matter is dismissed pursuant to this subdivision, the court may, using the least restrictive option to meet the mental health needs of the defendant, also do any of the following:

(1) Modify the terms and conditions of supervision to include appropriate mental health treatment.

(2) Refer the matter to any local mental health court, reentry court, or other collaborative justice court available for improving the mental health of the defendant.

(3) Refer the matter to the public guardian of the county of commitment to initiate conservatorship proceedings pursuant to Sections 5352 and 5352.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The public guardian shall investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship pursuant to Section 5354 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The court shall order the matter to the public guardian pursuant to this paragraph only if there are no other reasonable alternatives to the establishment of a conservatorship to meet the mental health needs of the defendant.

(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other law, if a person subject to parole pursuant to Section 3000.1 or paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 3000 is found mentally incompetent, the court shall order the parolee to undergo treatment pursuant to Section 1370 for restoring the person to competency, except that if the parolee is not restored to competency within the maximum period of confinement and the court dismisses the revocation, the court shall return the parolee to parole supervision.

(2) If the parolee is returned to parole supervision, the court may, using the least restrictive option to meet the mental health needs of the parolee, do any of the following:

(A) Modify the terms and conditions of parole to include appropriate mental health treatment.

(B) Refer the matter to any local mental health court, reentry court, or other collaborative justice court available for improving the mental health of the parolee.

(C) Refer the matter to the public guardian of the county of commitment to initiate conservatorship proceedings pursuant to Sections 5352 and 5352.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The public guardian shall investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship pursuant to Section 5354 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The court shall order the matter to the public guardian pursuant to this subparagraph only if there are no other reasonable alternatives to the establishment of a conservatorship to meet the mental health needs of the parolee.

(d) If a conservatorship is established for a defendant or parolee pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c), the county or the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not compassionately release the defendant or parolee or otherwise cause the termination of his or her supervision or parole based on the establishment of that conservatorship.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 1370.02 - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-1370-02/

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