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Name: People v. Keil
Case #: B196206
Opinion Date: 03/24/2008
Division: 6
Citation: 161 Cal.App.4th 34
Summary

A person detained for treatment and evaluation pursuant to Penal Code section 5150 may not own, possess, or control firearms for five years after the detention, and he may be required to forfeit any weapons he owns to the state, unless the People are unable to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is not a danger to himself or others (Pen. Code secs. 8102 & 8103). Appellant’s brother-in-law had recently been killed in the Iraq war; appellant’s wife had confessed to having an affair; appellant’s sister was getting a divorce. Drinking heavily, appellant threatened to kill himself by blowing out his brains (he owned several firearms). Pursuant to section 5150, he was committed from 4:20 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and his weapons were confiscated. At a subsequent hearing for return of the weapons, the court considered the stipulated evidence of appellant’s mental state and denied the request. Under a substantial evidence standard of review, the appellate court upheld the ruling.