People v. Kotich CA4/1

Filed 10/9/24 P. v. Kotich CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D083762

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD286988)

JOSEPH EDWARD KOTICH,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, David M. Gill, Judge. Dismissed. John L. Staley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. MEMORANDUM OPINION Joseph Edward Kotich appeals from a judgment extending for one year his civil commitment as an offender with a mental health disorder (OMD) under the Mentally Disordered Offender Act (MDOA). (Pen. Code, § 2960 et seq.) On appeal, Kotich’s appointed counsel raises one arguable issue for our review and also asks us to independently review the record for reversible

error under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 and Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738. We agree with the reasoning and holding in People v. Taylor (2008) 160 Cal.App.4th 304, however, that the procedures set forth in Wende and Anders for criminal defendants do not apply to an extension of a civil commitment under the MDOA. We thus dismiss the appeal. I. In January 2021, Kotich pleaded guilty in two separate criminal cases. In Case No. SCD282541, he admitted to unlawfully and maliciously shutting off or removing a telephone line used to conduct electricity. (§ 591.) And, in Case No. SCD286988, he admitted to resisting a peace officer by using force and violence. (§ 69.) In both cases, Kotich admitted a strike allegation. As part of the plea agreement, Kotich and the People stipulated to a total prison sentence of five years and four months. The trial court imposed the agreed- upon prison sentence. On March 14, 2022, Kotich was committed to the Department of State Hospitals as an OMD under section 2962. The People later filed a petition to extend Kotich’s OMD civil commitment for one additional year under section 2970, subdivision (b). The People alleged Kotich continued to suffer from a severe mental disorder that was not in remission and could not be kept in remission without treatment, so he posed a substantial danger of physical harm to others. In support of the petition, the People attached an affidavit from the medical director of a state hospital. The medical director opined Kotich suffered from “severe mental disorder [that] is not in remission and cannot be kept in remission.” Kotich denied the allegations in the petition and requested a jury trial. Although the court appointed two doctors to examine Kotich and provide an opinion about whether his commitment should be extended for another year,