1. MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDER (MDO) HEARINGS Presented by: Kara Houston, Staff Attorney

2. Appeals of MDO Certifications and Annual Hearings An MDO may appeal their certification or annual hearing pursuant to Penal Code section 2966(b) and (c). The superior court shall conduct a hearing on the petition 60 calendar days after the petition is filed, unless time is waived. The standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.

3. Certification Criteria: Penal Code section 2962 1.The inmate has a severe mental disorder. 2.The disorder is not kept in remission or cannot be kept in remission without treatment. 3.The severe mental disorder was one of the causes of or was an aggravating factor in the commission of a crime for which the prisoner was sentenced to prison.

4. Certification Criteria: Penal Code section 2962 4.The crime must be one where the inmate used force or violence, or caused serious bodily injury. 5.The inmate received treatment for a severe mental disorder for 90 days within the year prior to release. 6.Inmate represents a substantial danger of harm to others by reason of his severe mental disorder.

5. Evaluations: Penal Code section 2962(d)(1)and (3) CDCR and Department of State Hospitals (DSH) independently evaluate the inmate to determine whether they meet the above criteria and qualify as an MDO. If CDCR and DSH disagree on whether the inmate meets the criteria, BPH hires two independent evaluators to conduct evaluations. If one independent evaluator agrees that the inmate meets the criteria, the board certifies the inmate as an MDO.

6. Certification Hearing: Penal Code section 2966 and CCR, Title 15, section 2570(a) The Board is authorized to conduct certification hearings in order to determine whether a parolee should be certified as an MDO. The board bases their determination on the psychiatric evaluations completed by CDCR. The board may also consider any evaluations completed from a difference of opinion and any independent evaluations requested by the inmate’s attorney.

7. Burden of Proof Penal Code section 2966(a) – the burden of proof is on the certifying agency. Therefore, CDCR must prove that the parolee meets the criteria to be certified as an MDO. –A psychiatrist from CDCR testifies at all MDO hearings to offer proof that the parolee meets the MDO criteria.

8. Burden of Proof CCR, title 15, section 2576(b)(1) provides “the standard of proof used by the board at this hearing shall be a preponderance of evidence standard.” –Please note, that the standard of proof on appeal is beyond a reasonable doubt. (Penal Code section 2966(b))

9. Annual Hearings: Penal Code section 2962(c) and CCR, Title 15, section 2580(a) To continue mental health treatment the board must determine whether “the parolee has a severe mental disorder, whether the parolee’s severe mental disorder is not in remission or cannot be kept in remission without treatment, and whether by reason of his or her severe mental disorder, the parolee represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others.”

10. Annual Hearings: Penal Code section 2966(c): The board conducts an annual hearing to determine whether a parolee continues to meet the MDO criteria. –The same factors apply at an annual hearing as a certification hearing. –However, the board is considering whether the patient should either continue inpatient treatment, move to outpatient status, or have the MDO condition of parole removed because the patient no longer qualifies as an MDO.

11. Placement Hearings: Penal Code section 2964(b) and CCR, Title 15, section 2578 A placement hearing is conducted to determine whether a patient should be treated on an outpatient basis on inpatient within Atascadero or Patton State Hospital. The board conducts a placement hearing 60 days after a certification or annual hearing, but no later than nine months prior to an annual hearing.

12. Outpatient Treatment The board determines whether a parolee should receive outpatient treatment based upon a combined DSH and CONREP evaluation. CONREP is DSH’s Forensic Conditional Release Program and all outpatient treatment programs are contracted through CONREP. (Welfare and Institutions Code section 4360) CONREP programs meets with MDO’s prior to their placement and annual hearing to determine whether they should be placed in outpatient treatment.

13. DOP Greg Powe 916.324.5909 MDO Kevin Leach 916.324.9897 Supervisor Yolanda De la Torre 916.445.1467 E-mail all Reports to: BPH.MDOEvaluation@cdcr.ca.gov BPH.MDOEvaluation@cdcr.ca.gov Mailing Address: Board of Parole Hearings Attention: MDO Unit PO Box 4036 Sacramento, CA 95812-4036 MDO CONTACT INFO