Conservatorship of Daniel R. CA1/1 ( 2023 )


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  • Filed 10/5/23 Conservatorship of Daniel R. CA1/1
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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.
    IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION ONE
    Conservatorship of the Person of
    Daniel R.
    SONOMA COUNTY PUBLIC
    CONSERVATOR,
    Petitioner and Respondent,                                A167485
    v.
    (Sonoma County
    DANIEL R.,
    Super. Ct. No. SPR-089657)
    Objector and Appellant.
    Daniel R. appealed from an order renewing the conservatorship over
    him under the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Welf. & Inst.
    Code, § 5000 et seq.) (LPS). He argues that the order must be reversed
    since he was never adequately advised of his right to a jury trial and
    because substantial evidence does not support the imposition of various
    disabilities. Because we agree that the record does not demonstrate that
    1
    Daniel personally waived his right to a jury trial, we reverse in this
    memorandum opinion.1
    Respondent Sonoma County Public Conservator (Public
    Conservator) in November 2016 filed a petition for the imposition of an
    LPS conservatorship over Daniel. The trial court found Daniel to be
    gravely disabled in January 2017, appointed the Public Conservator as his
    conservator, and issued letters of conservatorship. The conservatorship
    was renewed five times.
    The trial court most recently ordered the renewal of Daniel’s
    conservatorship (for a sixth time) on March 15, 2023, following a court
    trial. Nowhere in the reporter’s transcripts or the minute orders of the
    hearings leading up to the renewal does it appear that Daniel was advised
    of his right to a jury trial regarding the reappointment of the Public
    Conservator, or that he personally waived the right.
    A proposed conservatee in LPS proceedings “shall have the right to
    demand a court or jury trial on the issue of whether the person is gravely
    disabled.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5350, subd. (d)(1).) “This right shall also
    apply in subsequent proceedings to reestablish conservatorship.” (Id.,
    subd. (d)(3).) “LPS commitment proceedings require the court to obtain a
    personal waiver of the right to a jury trial from the proposed conservatee.”
    (Conservatorship of Heather W. (2016) 
    245 Cal.App.4th 378
    , 383.)
    Participation in a court trial does not forfeit or waive the right to a jury
    trial. (K.R. v. Superior Court (2022) 
    80 Cal.App.5th 133
    , 137.) And such
    an error is not harmless even if evidence supports the finding that the
    1 A memorandum opinion contains “little or no reference to the
    evidence or the procedural history of the action and . . . an abbreviated
    discussion of the relevant legal issues and authorities.” (People v. Garcia
    (2002) 
    97 Cal.App.4th 847
    , 850.)
    2
    conservatee is gravely disabled. (Conservatorship of Heather W., supra,
    245 Cal.App.5th at p. 384.) The Public Conservator does not dispute the
    error, as it declined to file a respondent’s brief.
    The order reappointing the Public Conservator is reversed. Because
    we reverse the order, we need not decide whether the imposition of
    disabilities was supported by substantial evidence, as the imposition was
    based on the testimony presented to the trial court alone.
    3
    _________________________
    Humes, P.J.
    WE CONCUR:
    _________________________
    Margulies, J.
    _________________________
    Getty, J.*
    *Judge of the Superior Court of the County of Solano, assigned by
    the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California
    Constitution.
    Conservatorship of the Person of Daniel R. A167485
    4
    

Document Info

Docket Number: A167485

Filed Date: 10/5/2023

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 10/5/2023