People v. Superior Court (Ghilotti)

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

The Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA or Act) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600 et seq.)1 provides a court process by which certain convicted violent sex offenders, whose current mental disorders make them likely to reoffend if free, may be committed, at the end of their prison terms, for successive two-year periods of state hospital confinement and treatment as long as the disorder-related danger persists. Before an SVPA commitment or recommitment proceeding may even be initiated, at least two mental health professionals designated by the Director of the State Department of…