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Name: People v. Carroll
Case #: F051709
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Opinion Date: 12/27/2007
Subsequent History: Mod. 1/17/08
Summary

The indeterminate term provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code section 6600 et seq. apply to persons that were confined as Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) for two years under the former version of section 6604. Appellant had been subjected to involuntary two-year commitments pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predator Act and had a petition to extend his commitment pending when Senate Bill 1128 and Proposition 83 allowing for indefinite terms of commitment were passed. The court rejected appellant’s argument that the law in effect at the time the petition was filed was controlling. Noting that inasmuch as the intent of the legislature in amending the statute was to continue the confinement of the SVP for an indefinite term, the statute applied to a person in appellant’s position. Appellant waived his claim regarding adequacy of notice as a result of his failure to object to the amendment of the petition at trial to reflect the indeterminate commitment. Further, the claim failed on the merits because the allegations against which he needed to defend were unaffected by the amendment. Finally, there was no impermissible retrospective application because the trial and adjudication is the significant point, not the filing of the petition.