Conservatorship of the Person of Patricia G. CA4/1

Filed 2/7/24 Conservatorship of the Person of Patricia G. 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

Conservatorship of the Person of Patricia G.

S.D. COUNTY HEALTH AND D082420 HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY,

Petitioner and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MH119966)

v.

PATRICIA G.,

Objector and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, David M. Gill, Judge. Affirmed. John L. Staley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Objector and Appellant. Claudia Silva, County Counsel, and Raquel Young, Deputy County Counsel, for Petitioner and Respondent.

Patricia G., a conservatee under Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 5350, appeals her conservatorship on the grounds that the waiver of her right to a jury trial was not knowing and voluntary because the two oral waivers she provided, after her counsel already entered a waiver on her behalf, were given without each of the advisements recommended for use in criminal cases. This, she contends, violates her rights to due process. On the particular facts of this case, we disagree and affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Given the nature of this appeal, a lengthy recitation of the undisputed facts underlying the conservatorship is unnecessary. The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) filed a section 5350 petition for conservatorship in May 2023. Patricia G. initially demanded a jury trial. But at a subsequent status conference hearing a few weeks later, her appointed counsel indicated his client was waiving her right to a jury. Patricia G. was not present in the courtroom when her counsel made this representation, so roughly one week later counsel asked the court to personally confirm the waiver with her client on the record. The following discussion occurred: