People v. Woods CA1/5

Filed 12/1/22 P. v. Woods CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A165150 v. ANTHONY LAMONT WOODS, JR., (Alameda County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. Nos. 20-MH-012743, 20-CR-012743)

Defendant Anthony Lamont Woods, Jr., appeals from an order finding him not competent to stand trial, committing him to the State Department of State Hospitals pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1367 et seq., and authorizing the involuntary administration of antipsychotic drugs. His appointed counsel has filed a brief raising no issues, asking us to independently review the record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 or, alternatively, to exercise our discretion to retain the appeal as prescribed in Conservatorship of Ben C. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 529 (Ben C.). Defendant subsequently filed a supplemental brief raising certain issues for our consideration. While Wende review is not mandated, we exercised our discretion to review the record and

1 Unless otherwise stated, all statutory citations are to the Penal Code.

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agree with counsel there are no cognizable issues on appeal. We therefore affirm the order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On September 28, 2020, a complaint was filed charging defendant with murder, with allegations including that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death or great bodily injury. On November 9, 2020, the trial court suspended the proceedings and appointed two expert evaluators after defense counsel expressed doubt as to defendant’s mental competence to stand trial (§§ 1368–1369). At a subsequent hearing, counsel stipulated to submitting the issue of defendant’s mental competency on the basis of the expert evaluations. The court thus found based on these evaluations that defendant was incompetent to stand trial and referred the matter to the department’s Conditional Release Program (CONREP) for a recommendation regarding his proper placement (§ 1370). On January 28, 2021, the court adopted CONREP’s recommendation to commit defendant to the State Department of State Hospitals for a term not to exceed two years (§ 1370, subds. (a)(1)(B)(i), (c)(1)). On September 9, 2021, the hospital medical director filed a certificate of mental competency opining that defendant was mentally competent (§ 1372). Defendant requested a hearing and, on March 1, 2022, filed an expert competency evaluation and report from John M. Greene, M.D., opining that he remained mentally incompetent. On March 4, 2022, a hearing was held pursuant to section 1372 to determine whether defendant was restored to competence. The parties agreed to submit the question of defendant’s competency on the basis of Dr. Greene’s evaluation. At the hearing’s conclusion, the court ruled