A finding of Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) status was reversed due to lack of sufficient evidence to support the elements required by Penal Code section 2962. In this case, a single expert witness testified that he reviewed two previous MDO evaluations, but those were never offered into evidence. Thus there was no way of determining if there had been MDO certification by the chief psychiatrist and there was no way of determining if any evaluation was performed by the person in charge of his treatment. Because the MDO proceeding is civil in nature, there is no double jeopardy protection and the matter may be retried.
Case Summaries