People v. Davis CA3

Filed 12/17/21 P. v. Davis CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C092962

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 51318)

v.

JONATHAN EARL DAVIS,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 1978, defendant Jonathan Earl Davis was found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI) of murder. Defendant appeals from the trial court’s order extending his commitment to a state hospital under Penal Code section 1026.5, subdivision (b)(1) (statutory section references that follow are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated). He contends the state did not show that he currently presented a substantial danger of physical harm to others and suffered from a volitional impairment rendering him dangerous beyond his control. We affirm the judgment.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS Defendant was committed to the state hospital in 1978 after being found NGI of murder. In May 2020, the People filed a petition to extend defendant’s NGI commitment pursuant to section 1026.5. The petition attached a recommendation and affidavit signed

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by Dr. Carolina Klein, medical director of Napa State Hospital (NSH). Dr. Klein requested an extension of the commitment, declaring that “in his present status and condition, by reason of a mental disease, defect or disorder, [defendant] represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others.” Defendant’s court trial occurred in September 2020, after which the parties submitted briefing. Dr. Lei Wei, a psychiatrist at NSH, testified that NSH has a three-level system for classifying patients. Defendant is in the lowest level—the level for patients with the lowest ability to function and perform activities of daily living. Generally, patients in the lowest level are severely ill. Dr. Wei explained that defendant suffers from schizophrenia and is the subject of an involuntary medication order because he lacks the capacity to make medication decisions for himself. Defendant suffers from some delusional beliefs, including the belief that he did not commit the underlying offense and the belief that he is not being given real medications. Defendant also exhibits negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as a lack of emotional response. Generally, people who have negative symptoms have pretty severe psychotic disorders. Dr. Wei did not believe that defendant would voluntarily take medications if released because he stated he does not need medications. If defendant failed to take his medications, Dr. Wei opined he would most likely relapse into a full psychotic state with hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. Dr. Wei opined that, because of defendant’s mental disorder, he posed a substantial danger of physical harm to others and had serious difficulty controlling his dangerous behavior and posed a high risk for relapse and violence. Dr. Wei explained that when people like defendant with psychotic disorders relapse, it is typical for them to have paranoia and/or delusions such as feeling they are under God’s command. They can have auditory or visual hallucinations that tell them to hurt themselves or others. This is highly dangerous and is a predisposing factor for violence. Dr. Wei observed defendant’s condition was not in full remission, another high-risk factor that increases dangerousness.