Stanford Health Care v. K.M. CA6

Filed 8/20/25 Stanford Health Care v. K.M. CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

STANFORD HEALTH CARE, H052897 (Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. 24MH053173)

v.

K.M.,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT1 Appellant K.M. was admitted to respondent Stanford Health Care on a 14-day commitment pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 5250.2 The trial court denied K.M.’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court found that the mental health care practitioners treating K.M. while she was under the hold could administer psychotropic medications over her objection. On appeal, K.M.’s appointed counsel filed a brief under Conservatorship of Ben C. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 529 (Ben C.) asking this court to independently review the record. K.M. filed a supplemental brief asserting that she did not qualify for detention under section 5250.

Before Greenwood, P. J., Lie, J., and Rodriguez, J. (Judge of the San Diego 1

County Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.) 2 Subsequent statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

The trial court’s denial of the petition for writ of habeas corpus is not an appealable order. We therefore dismiss the appeal. I. BACKGROUND In October 2024, K.M. was admitted to Stanford Health Care and placed on a 14- day involuntary commitment based on her medical and psychiatric symptoms. K.M. filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court, claiming that her detention was unlawful because she was not gravely disabled. At the hearing on K.M.’s writ petition, her treating psychiatrist opined that K.M. refused treatment because her psychiatric condition prevented her from understanding the severity of her illnesses. K.M. presented to the hospital emergency department with shortness of breath and elevated heart rate, and expressed concern that these conditions were affecting her pregnancy. K.M. testified that she believed she was pregnant with twins based on an ultrasound performed at a clinic in August 2024. However, multiple pregnancy tests indicated that K.M. was not pregnant. K.M.’s treating psychiatrist testified that K.M. suffered from delusional thinking and paranoia, which manifested not only in her mistaken belief that she was pregnant, but also in her mistaken belief that she did not have thyroid disease, resulting in her refusal to accept necessary medical treatment. Because K.M. refused medication, the trial court held a “Riese hearing,” after which the hospital commenced administering an antipsychotic medication to K.M.3