Opinion
A102290
10-27-2003
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. STEPHANIE HENDERSON, Defendant and Appellant.
Stephanie Henderson appeals from her commitment to a mental hospital following a determination that she was incompetent to stand trial. She contends that the trial court erred by committing her for up to five years. The state concedes error. We reverse and remand.
DISCUSSION
Henderson was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1)) and one count of vandalism (§ 594, subd. (a)). The trial court suspended proceedings before trial, held a competency hearing, and determined that Henderson was not competent to stand trial. (See § 1368.) On December 20, 2002, the trial court committed Henderson to Patton State Hospital until restored to competency, with a maximum term of commitment of five years from June 12, 2002 (the date of the alleged offense). The trial court denied Hendersons motion to have the term reduced to three years. Henderson has timely appealed.
Under section 1370, subdivision (c)(1), the maximum commitment for incompetence is three years or the maximum term for the most serious offense in the information, whichever is shorter. (§ 1370, subds. (a)(1), (c)(1); Conservatorship of Hofferber (1980) 28 Cal.3d 161, 169-170; In re Polk (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1230, 1237.) Because the maximum term for assault with a deadly weapon is greater than three years (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)), even factoring in credit for time served (§ 1370, subd. (a)(3)(C)), Hendersons maximum commitment period is three years. This three-year limit runs from the date of commitment, not the date of the offense—here, December 20, 2002. (§ 1370, subd. (c)(1).) Thus, under section 1370, Henderson cannot be committed beyond December 20, 2005. Consequently, the five-year commitment order was in error.
We add one final note to assist the trial court on remand. Section 1370, subdivision (c)(1)s three-year statutory limit applies to the total period actually spent in commitment at a mental institution. (In re Polk, supra, 71 Cal.App.4th at p. 1238.) The three-year limit is intended to comply with due process requirements by limiting commitment to the period reasonably necessary to permit treatment for incompetence. (See Conservatorship of Hofferber, supra, 28 Cal.3d at p. 168.) Under section 1370, credit for time served in prison may be used to reduce the period of commitment when that period is measured based on the maximum term of imprisonment. (§ 1370, subd. (c)(1); see § 1370, subd. (a)(3)(C).) However, we do not read section 1370 as extending prison credit to commitments subject to the three-year maximum, because such a reduction bears no relation to the period reasonably necessary to permit actual treatment. In essence, we read section 1370, subdivision (c)(1) as providing for commitment for up to three years, but in no event for any period longer than would have been served had the defendant been convicted. Consequently, although Henderson received 245 days credit for time served, those credits should not be applied on remand to reduce the maximum period of commitment.
DISPOSITION
The order committing Stephanie Henderson to Patton State Hospital is reversed in part. We remand so that the trial court may modify the order to correct the maximum commitment period.
We concur: JONES, P.J., STEVENS, J. --------------- Notes: All statutory references are to the Penal Code.