People v. R.M. CA1/3

Filed 8/29/23 P. v. R.M. CA1/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
A165171
v.
R.M., (San Mateo County
Super. Ct. No. SC044388A)
Defendant and Appellant.
Defendant R.M. appeals from a trial court order extending his civil
commitment under Penal Code section 1026.5.1 He contends: (1) there is
insufficient evidence to support the finding that he has serious difficulty
controlling his dangerous behavior and poses a substantial risk of physical
harm to others; and (2) the court improperly admitted evidence under the
business records exception to the hearsay rule. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Defendant was committed in 1999 after being found not guilty by
reason of insanity of residential burglary (§ 460, subd. (a)). He admitted that
the victim of the offense was 65 years of age or older (§ 667.9, subd. (a)) and
that the crime was a “ ‘serious felony’ ” (§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(18)). In short, the
1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise
indicated.
offense involved defendant breaking into his father’s home, beating his
father, and fracturing his father’s skull in multiple places. Defendant, who
first experienced psychotic symptoms and was diagnosed with schizophrenia
in his early twenties, attacked his father while experiencing delusions and
hallucinations: he believed his father was the Devil, and he heard God
commanding him to hit his father. Over the years, the court extended the
commitment several times.
In June 2021, the People filed a petition to extend the commitment
pursuant to section 1026.5. On April 1, 2022, after a bench trial, the court
found beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant has a mental disease, defect,
or disorder that causes him to have serious difficulty controlling his
dangerous behavior and to pose a substantial danger of physical harm to
others. The court ordered the commitment extended to November 10, 2023.
The following is a summary of the trial evidence.
Dr. Muhammad Tariq, a licensed psychiatrist at Napa State Hospital
who has served as defendant’s treating psychiatrist since mid-2020, testified
that defendant lives with schizophrenia and his symptoms include delusions
and hallucinations. Although defendant has not had hallucinations since at
least mid-2020, he maintains an ongoing fixed delusion that he is an inventor
whose inventions include producing limitless energy and traveling to the
moon in 90 minutes. Dr. Tariq has not observed defendant make threats or
act out in violence because of his delusions. But when Dr. Tariq tries to
“reality test” the inventions, defendant gets angry and agitated and can
become verbally abusive unless the questioning stops.
Dr. Tariq also testified that defendant denies he has delusions and
thinks he has been in remission for over a decade. Defendant is currently on
a “maximum dose” of Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication. Although
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medication compliant, defendant has resisted attempts to adjust his
medication because he believes it already controls all of his symptoms.
Defendant admitted he has not recently participated in “core groups” meant
to address a patient’s illness and discharge preparation, which is part of his
treatment plan.
In terms of discharge, defendant’s plan is to get released through the
appeal process, then support himself with money he has saved and by
working and selling his inventions. Defendant believes his family will
support him, but Dr. Tariq is aware of only one brother who has participated
in any of defendant’s treatment at the hospital. Defendant consistently
disclaims any intention to discharge through CONREP, an outpatient
program that could assist him with medication compliance, participation in
groups or psychiatric appointments, and compliance with other rules while in
the community.
Dr. Lindsey Alvis is a licensed forensic psychologist who was previously
employed at Napa State Hospital and whom the trial court designated as an
expert in forensic psychology, diagnosis of mental illness, and risk
assessments. Dr. Alvis testified that she interviewed defendant in June 2021
but was unable to thoroughly assess him because he immediately took control
of the interview and was unwilling to discuss various important topics such
as his commitment offense, diagnosis, and symptoms. When she asked about
CONREP, defendant “rapidly escalated and became agitated and jumped out
of his chair.” This response was “rather intimidating” and “somewhat
threatening,” as defendant was a few feet from her in a small room.
After reviewing defendant’s medical records and hearing Dr. Tariq’s
testimony, Dr. Alvis concluded that defendant has chronic schizophrenia and
experiences delusions. Dr. Alvis also testified that defendant’s medical
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records showed the following. He denied being symptomatic for the last
decade and does not believe he needs medication to manage his symptoms.
Defendant was unable to form a therapeutic bond or rapport with his current
treatment team, and he blamed his medication for the commitment offense.
He refuses group treatment in favor of pursuing his inventions, and he
exhibits emotional instability, particularly when his focus is turned from his
inventions toward treatment.
In Dr. Alvis’s opinion, it is concerning that defendant lacks insight into
his mental illness and does not understand the need for ongoing treatment.
Though defendant had not been violent or medication noncompliant in the
state hospital, Dr. Alvis noted defendant’s belief that he was required to take
medication only because of an involuntary medication order.
Dr. Alvis found defendant’s unwillingness to be discharged into
CONREP significant in light of defendant’s history of medication
noncompliance prior to the commitment offense and his continued lack
insight of into his mental illness, history of violence, and need for treatment.
Dr. Alvis believed CONREP would provide important support outside of the
hospital, help maintain treatment engagement and medication compliance,
and prevent decompensation.
Using the “HRC-20” test, Dr. Alvis ranked defendant a moderate risk of
future harm in the community without the support of CONREP, a
low/moderate risk for imminent violence without CONREP, and a moderate
risk of substantial harm to others in the community without CONREP.
Defendant poses a lower risk of violence in the state hospital because it is a
controlled environment where staff constantly monitor patients, provide
medications, and are trained in de-escalation of patients. Dr. Alvis believed
it likely that defendant would become medication noncompliant while
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unsupervised in the community, which would increase his risk of heightened
agitation and hallucinations. And because defendant has “poor frustration
tolerance” and “easily escalates to a level of agitation” when challenged, Dr.
Alvis expressed concern that, outside of the hospital setting, defendant might
become violent if rebuffed when attempting to approach someone about his
inventions. For all these reasons, Dr. Alvis opined that defendant has serious
difficulty controlling his dangerous behavior and poses a substantial risk of
physical harm to others due to his mental illness.
Defendant testified on his own behalf. He acknowledged he has had
schizophrenia since his early twenties and was delusional and hallucinating
at the time of his commitment offense. The attack occurred after he was
recently released from an involuntary commitment at Cordilleras Mental
Health Facility and was living at “Jackson House,” a board and care home
with a supportive environment for people with mental illnesses. He denied
intentionally being off his medication at the time of the commitment offense,
though he may have told Dr. Tariq he missed a dose of his medication prior to
that offense and may have testified in 2020 that he chose to go off of his
medication in the past. Even though defendant did not want to take
medication when he “first went into mental health,” he now understands its
importance. Defendant said he intends to take his medication if discharged
and believes he needs the medications to manage his symptoms.
As for his discharge plans, defendant acknowledged he has never gone
into outpatient treatment and is unwilling to work with CONREP, in large
part because a person going into CONREP cannot enter into business
contracts. Instead, he has saved about $7,000 in cash and can claim a $6,000
inheritance upon release, and he plans to live alone. Defendant has been
looking into renting a room in North Beach for $995 and intends to pay first
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and last months’ rent plus a deposit. He will supplement his income by
working and selling his inventions, and he plans to contact and personally
meet with people such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates to either sell his
inventions or form his own company.
Once he is in the community, defendant plans to apply for emergency
MediCal and use public transit. If he runs out of medications and begins
hallucinating, he will seek out emergency assistance and would not act on
hallucinations. Consistent with the expert testimony, defendant denied
having any symptoms of mental illness for the last ten years, including
delusions. He acknowledged he declined Dr. Tariq’s attempts to adjust his
medication despite being told his current medication is ineffective in treating
his delusions.
Defendant emphasized he never committed any acts of violence during
his 23 years in the hospital, even though he claimed to have been attacked by
others. With regard to participation in treatment groups, he claimed that for
“five years,” from “2017, maybe 2015 to ’19 or ’20,” he did “core programs”
with a 90 percent attendance rate or more. He stopped after he was moved to
a different unit because he was unwilling to work with CONREP. When
asked to clarify which time periods he had a 90 percent participation rate in
core groups, he could not provide a clear answer.
Defendant’s brother also testified. The brother said he is willing to
help defendant transition back into the community in ways that he can—e.g.,
pick him up from the hospital upon discharge, help him get to the doctor, and
help him find housing. But the brother was unwilling to have defendant live
with him or to manage defendant’s medications on a daily basis. He has no
experience working with people having mental illnesses and does not know
what defendant’s symptoms are aside from hallucinations. He indicated he
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encouraged defendant to participate in CONREP and treatment groups but
was unsure if he was successful.
DISCUSSION
A. Sufficiency of the Evidence
The commitment of a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity
can be extended “only if the person has been committed under Section 1026
for a felony and by reason of a mental disease, defect, or disorder [he or she]
represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others.” (§ 1026.5,
subd. (b)(1).) Extension of such a commitment requires proof that the
defendant has “serious difficulty controlling his dangerous behavior.” (People
v. Williams (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 861, 872 (Williams).) “[A] release under
section 1026.5 is an unconditional one—the released person leaves the
psychiatric facility without further supervision or compulsory treatment.”
(People v. Bolden (1990) 217 Cal.App.3d 1591, 1599 (Bolden).)
“ ‘ “In reviewing the sufficiency of evidence to support a section 1026.5
extension, we apply the test used to review a judgment of conviction;
therefore, we review the entire record in the light most favorable to the
extension order to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have
found the requirements of section 1026.5(b)(1) beyond a reasonable doubt.” ’ ”
(People v. Bowers (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 870, 878–879.) “It is not our
function to reweigh the evidence, reappraise the credibility of witnesses, or
resolve factual conflicts, as these are functions reserved for the trier of fact.”
(People v. Tripp (2007) 151 Cal.App.4th 951, 955 (Tripp).) “A single
psychiatric opinion that a person is dangerous because of a mental disorder
constitutes substantial evidence to justify the extension of commitment.”
(Williams, supra, 242 Cal.App.4th at p. 872.) Reversal is “unwarranted
unless it appears ‘that upon no hypothesis whatever is there sufficient
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substantial evidence to support’ ” the verdict. (People v. Bolin (1998) 18
Cal.4th 297, 331.)
Here, defendant does not challenge the trial court’s determination that
he has a mental disorder—schizophrenia. He also accepts the court’s finding
that he experiences ongoing delusions “centering on his identity as an
inventor and the viability of his scientific inventions.” We accept these
concessions and note the testimony of Drs. Tariq and Alvis amply supports
them.
Beyond the foregoing, defendant argues there is no substantial
evidence supporting the finding that he has serious difficulty controlling his
dangerous behavior and poses a substantial danger of physical harm to
others. We disagree.
It is undisputed the commitment offense involved defendant’s violent
attack on his father while hallucinating that his father was the Devil and
that God commanded the attack. And as fully recounted above, Dr. Alvis
opined, as an expert in forensic psychology, diagnosis of mental illness, and
risk assessments, that defendant has serious difficulty controlling his
dangerous behavior and that he poses a substantial risk of physical harm to
others due to his mental illness. Dr. Alvis indicated her opinion was based on
his commitment offense,2 his failure to understand or accept his mental
illness or recognize his symptoms, his failure to understand his need for long-
term treatment “including with a therapeutic level of medication that would
actually potentially have an impact” on his ongoing symptoms, and his
2 Defendant takes issue with Dr. Alvis using the phrase “history of
violence” in referring to the commitment offense, arguing the word “history”
has a misleading connotation of repetitive acts. But there is no indication
that her use of the term had any negative or improper impact on her opinion
or the trial court’s ultimate ruling.
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inability to control his emotional and behavioral responses to frustrations,
including challenges to his delusions. Substantial evidence supports the
bases for the doctor’s opinion, which is a reasonable one drawn from the
evidence, not one based on mere surmise or conjecture.
Moreover, the evidence of defendant’s lack of insight into his mental
illness substantially supports the finding that he poses a substantial risk of
physical harm to others. Defendant currently experiences delusions, though
he denies having had any symptoms of mental illness for the last ten years.
As a result, he does not believe he needs medication to manage any ongoing
symptoms. Not only has defendant refused Dr. Tariq’s recommendation to
adjust his medication to treat ongoing symptoms, but the evidence reflects
that defendant makes treatment decisions based on his delusion that he is a
creator of certain inventions of immense significance. Specifically, he
declines to attend core treatment groups and declines to consider discharge
into CONREP so that he can enter business contracts for his inventions.
Dr. Alvis opined defendant’s failure to participate in ongoing treatment
reflects a lack of insight into his need for medication and treatment, which
makes him a high risk for medication noncompliance in the community.
Though defendant’s brother expressed willingness to help defendant in the
community in ways that he can, the brother declined to manage defendant’s
medications on a daily basis. Indeed, the brother lives in Santa Cruz while
defendant tentatively plans to reside alone in San Francisco, and the
brother’s attempts to encourage defendant’s participation in CONREP and
treatment groups in the hospital have already failed, casting serious doubt on
the prospect of a different outcome in the community.
Other evidence likewise bolstered Dr. Alvis’s opinion that defendant is
a high risk of medication noncompliance in the community. For example, Dr.
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Sabeen Kaka’s February 2021 quarterly note recorded that “[defendant]
reports that it is because of medication that all this (his offense) happened. It
was a medication problem from the beginning. He states he ‘did nothing to
deserve this . . . I was walking in my sleep’ in reference to the violence he
engaged in for his [commitment] offense.” While defendant contests the
admissibility of a similar statement recorded in a May 2021 quarterly note,
he does not contest the admissibility of the statements recorded in this
February 2021 note which, as we will discuss post, appear admissible as a
party admission or state of mind evidence (Evid. Code, §§ 1220, 1250).
As defendant acknowledges, medication compliance is highly relevant
to the determination of future dangerousness. (See, e.g., Bolden, supra, 217
Cal.App.4th at p. 1600.) Here, Dr. Alvis testified that without medication,
defendant’s hallucinations may return and he may act on them. Dr. Alvis
also testified that without medication there is an increased risk defendant
will exhibit heightened agitation beyond his current levels of agitation.
On this latter point, there is evidence of numerous recent incidents in
the hospital in which defendant demonstrated emotional instability. As
recounted above, Dr. Alvis personally experienced one such episode when
defendant refused to discuss topics such as his commitment offense,
diagnosis, and symptoms during an interview, then became intimidating and
threatening as he “rapidly escalated and became agitated and jumped out of
his chair” when asked about CONREP. Dr. Tariq testified, in a similar vein,
that when he has tried to “reality test” defendant’s inventions, defendant gets
angry and agitated and can become verbally abusive. The agitation
defendant displays in the hospital was concerning to Dr. Alvis, who noted
that defendant’s medication—which Dr. Tariq referred to as a “maximum
dose” of Seroquel—has a sedating effect. On this record, substantial evidence
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supports the court’s finding that defendant has serious difficulty controlling
his dangerous behavior and poses a substantial danger of physical harm to
others.
Defendant’s contentions to the contrary are unpersuasive. Defendant
argues there is no evidence he “intentionally” went off his medication around
the time of the commitment offense, and he acknowledges his previous
testimony that he may have missed a dose unintentionally at Jackson House.
Even if true, this does not assist defendant: it merely highlights the fact that
he could become medication noncompliant and violent despite living in a
supportive environment like Jackson House that dispenses medications, and
despite being recently released from an involuntary commitment at
Cordilleras Mental Health Facility, where he was medicated.
Defendant also contends it was undisputed he has been medication
compliant during his commitment. He further argues there was no
admissible evidence that he ever stated he did not want to take his
medication or would stop if released and no evidence that he ever tried to
evade medications. While these may be fair points in defendant’s favor, we
reject the argument because it merely invites us to reweigh the evidence.
(Tripp, supra, 151 Cal.App.4th at p. 955.)
Defendant argues his delusion that he is a great inventor is not
substantially likely to result in physical harm to others because there was no
evidence that the delusion has resulted in violence or threats of violence or
that it involved dangerous or violent thoughts. While the absence of such
evidence was important for the trial court to consider, the court heard a lot of
evidence bearing on defendant’s dangerousness, which we cannot reweigh.
Relying on People v. Cheatham (2022) 82 Cal.App.5th 782 (Cheatham)
and People v. Redus (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 998 (Redus), defendant contends a
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person need not be free of all symptoms of mental illness to be discharged
under section 1026.5. We take no issue with that general proposition, but the
principal question is whether a person, “by reason of a mental disease, defect,
or disorder represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others.”
(§ 1026.5, subd. (b)(1); see, e.g., Cheatham, at p. 790.) For the reasons below,
the instant case presents no parallel to Cheatham and Redus.
Cheatham involved an appellant who was found not guilty by reason of
insanity after he fled or attempted to flee from criminal custody because he
heard nonexistent voices telling him he was in danger. (Cheatham, supra, 82
Cal.App.5th at pp. 785–786.) Significantly, the appellant had never engaged
in any dangerous behavior, and there was no evidence he had “ever
committed a single violent, aggressive, or threatening act that was
attributable to his mental disorder.” (Id. at pp. 790, 794.) On those facts, the
Court of Appeal reversed the commitment extension even though there was
evidence the appellant would not be medication and treatment compliant if
released and his mental health symptoms would increase. (Id. at p. 790.)
Redus involved an appellant who was 73 years old and described by a
psychology and risk assessment defense expert as a “ ‘fragile old man’ ” who
was not “physically capable of taking action against an object of his paranoia
even if he wanted to.” (Redus, supra, 54 Cal.App.5th at p. 1011.) The
appellant had not committed any violent act during his 45 years of
commitment, and there had been no “hint of violence, threatening behavior,
or aggressiveness of any kind on the part of appellant over multiple decades,
even through CONREP releases and medication lapses.” (Id. at p. 1012,
italics added.) The defense expert had also opined that the appellant “would
be motivated to continue taking his medications because he did not want to
spend his last days in the hospital” and that such opinion “was bolstered by
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evidence that, upon his release, appellant’s daughter, a retired deputy sheriff,
testified that she was prepared to offer him a home with her and to supervise
his monthly medication injections and other medical appointments.” (Id. at
p. 1013, fn. 4.) Based on this record, Redus found substantial evidence did
not support the trial court’s finding that the appellant’s mental illness caused
him serious difficulty controlling his potentially dangerous behavior. (Id. at
p. 1013.)
Unlike the situations in Cheatham and Redus, the record here contains
substantial evidence that defendant poses “a substantial danger of physical
harm to others” due to his mental health issues. As discussed, his
commitment offense involved hallucinations that drove him to violence, and
he has exhibited emotionally unstable and verbally abusive behavior in the
hospital. Defendant refuses to engage in outpatient treatment via CONREP,
so there is no basis for evaluating his behavior in an outpatient setting.
Likewise, there appears no likelihood of support or treatment supervision
upon defendant’s release, which in turn makes him a high risk for medication
noncompliance and potential dangerousness in the community.
Last, defendant argues his refusal to participate in group treatment or
to work with CONREP is not substantial evidence of dangerousness because
his refusal is unconnected to dangerous behavior. This misses the point,
which is that the reasons for his refusal demonstrate he is making significant
decisions based on ongoing symptoms of his illness and delusions that he fails
to acknowledge and declines to treat.
In sum, substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding beyond a
reasonable doubt that defendant has serious difficulty controlling his
dangerous behavior and that he poses a substantial danger of physical harm
to others.
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B. Alleged Evidentiary Errors
Next, we address defendant’s contention that the trial court wrongly
admitted medical records under the business records exception to the hearsay
rule. (Evid. Code, § 1271.)
1. Additional Factual Background
Prior to trial, defendant filed motions in limine arguing state hospital
records should not be admitted as business records and experts should not be
permitted to testify to case specific hearsay in violation of People v. Sanchez
(2016) 63 Cal.4th 665 (Sanchez). Before the presentation of evidence, the
People sought to introduce 25 pages of excerpts from 2,000 to 3,000 pages
worth of defendant’s medical records. Because these pages were just
excerpts, the People sought to assist the court and counsel by creating a table
showing information about each excerpt, such as its date, author, and
pertinent statements defendant made. The table and the 25 excerpts were
designated collectively as People’s Exhibit 1 (hereafter “Exhibit 1”).
Defense counsel orally objected, arguing generally that some of the
excerpts contained hearsay since they were from reports made by clinicians
or staff describing things defendant said or did. He also contended that some
portions did not qualify as business records because they were not made in
the normal course of business. Defense counsel further objected to any
reports dating back to 2018 or 2019, arguing they were irrelevant given their
remoteness.
The trial court denied defendant’s motion to exclude the documents,
finding that they qualified as business records and that certain hearsay
exceptions applied, such as for a party admission or for a person’s state of
mind. The court also noted that hearsay exceptions could apply to multiple
levels of hearsay within a document. (See Sanchez, supra, 63 Cal.4th at
14
pp. 674–675.) Thereafter, defense counsel stipulated that the People’s table
summarizing information about the documents was accurate. After trial, the
court indicated in its oral ruling that it considered the documents in
Exhibit 1.
2. Analysis
First, defendant claims the People’s table—which summarized some
information concerning the excerpted records—referenced two documents not
actually included in Exhibit 1 and so should have been excluded. Setting
aside defendant’s apparent forfeiture of the issue, we agree with the People
that any conceivable error in admitting the table was harmless. Generally,
state law error in admitting evidence is subject to the standard for harmless
error set out in People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836 (Watson). (People
v. Partida (2005) 37 Cal.4th 428, 439; People v. Flint (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th
983, 1003 [erroneous admission of expert testimony containing inadmissible
case-specific hearsay statements is reviewed under Watson].) Here, the table
merely summarized information about the excerpted documents.
Second, defendant acknowledges portions of the medical records in
Exhibit 1 were admissible, but argues some portions were inadmissible and
should have been redacted, namely: (1) summaries, opinions and conclusions
concerning his symptoms, medication effectiveness, group participation,
relationship with treatment providers, behavior, and progress on discharge
goals; (2) information from prior records, such as a CONREP report and prior
risk assessments; (3) information about his past history where the source is
not clearly identified; and (4) statements attributed to defendant without the
source of information or date.
He also argues the erroneous admission of the entirety of Exhibit 1
allowed Dr. Alvis to testify about the following case-specific hearsay: (1) the
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May 11, 2021 quarterly psychology progress note by Dr. Kaka stating
defendant blamed medication for his commitment offense; (2) the May 10,
2021 clinical social work progress note by Senaida Rangel stating defendant
“verbalizes” he does not need medication to manage his symptoms; (3) a
December 10, 2019 quarterly psychology progress note by Dr. Kimberly Klem
stating defendant denied experiencing psychiatric symptoms; and (4) a June
3, 2020 quarterly conference note by Dr. Kaka stating defendant had been
unable to form a therapeutic bond with treatment members. The People
acknowledge portions of Exhibit 1 were inadmissible, but argue any error
was harmless. We agree with the People.
Defendant argues the error was prejudicial because inadmissible
portions of the exhibit supported key aspects of the People’s case, namely, the
People’s theory that defendant blamed medication for the instant offense.
Specifically, defendant cites Dr. Kaka’s May 11, 2021 quarterly psychology
progress note, which included a purported statement by defendant on this
point. Defendant claims this statement was inadmissible because the note
did not identify the source of the information, and aside from this, there was
not a “single verifiable occurrence of [defendant] stating that he blamed
medication for the offense.” This, however, is inaccurate.
Our review discloses at least two other times doctors reported
defendant’s statements on the topic, without objection from defendant. Dr.
Kaka’s February 16, 2021 quarterly conference note included defendant’s
statements that “it is because of medication that all this (his offense)
happened. It was a medication problem from the beginning. He states he
‘did nothing to deserve this . . . I was walking in my sleep’ in reference to the
violence he engaged in for his [commitment] offense.” These particular
statements appear admissible as a statement of defendant’s existing mental
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or physical state (Evid. Code, § 1250, subd. (a)) or perhaps as a party
admission of his actions or thoughts (Evid. Code, § 1220). In addressing the
February 16, 2021 quarterly conference note, defendant concedes his direct
statements at the conference were admissible.
Additionally, a June 2020 note by Dr. Tariq documented a face-to-face
meeting with defendant in which defendant made the following statements
about his commitment offense: defendant had been “in and out of hospitals”;
“his medications were being constantly changed and the medications were
ineffective”; and “he was compliant with the medications and just missed one
dose prior to his instant offense.” Again, these statements appear admissible
under the party admission and state of mind exceptions to hearsay, and
defendant concedes Dr. Tariq’s description of this interaction was admissible.
Given such evidence, it is not reasonably probable the verdict would have
been more favorable to defendant had the court redacted the challenged
statement in Dr. Kaka’s May 2021 note.
Defendant also argues the inadmissible portions of Exhibit 1 supported
another key prosecution theory, i.e., that defendant would stop taking
medication if discharged. For this argument, defendant cites the People’s
reference to a nonspecific and undetailed May 10, 2021 social work progress
note by Senaida Rangel referring to defendant’s verbalization that “he does
not need medication to manage his symptoms.”
Again, assuming this was not a record of an actual statement by
defendant, there is no reasonable probability of a different outcome had
Rangel’s note been redacted. Though Dr. Alvis relied on the note as evidence
that defendant lacks insight, there was plenty of other evidence on this topic,
including the testimony of Dr. Tariq and defendant himself.
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For similar reasons we conclude it is not reasonably probable the
outcome would have been different had Dr. Alvis not testified about the
challenged portions of Dr. Kaka’s May 11, 2021 quarterly psychology progress
note and Rangel’s May 10, 2021 note. Nor is it reasonably probable the
outcome would have been different had Dr. Alvis not testified about a
December 10, 2019 quarterly psychology progress note stating that defendant
denied experiencing psychiatric symptoms or about a June 3, 2020 quarterly
conference note stating that defendant had not been able to form a
therapeutic bond with treatment members. Defendant himself testified he
has not experienced any symptoms of mental illness in the last ten years and
Dr. Tariq testified defendant said his symptoms have been in remission for
more than 10 years. Moreover, whether defendant formed a therapeutic bond
with treatment members is largely irrelevant, and the record was replete
with evidence that defendant refused to attend core treatment groups.
Finally, defendant makes a general claim of prejudicial error due to the
People’s reliance on Exhibit 1 and the court’s having reviewed it. We are not
persuaded. Defendant shows no reasonable probability of a more favorable
outcome had the exhibit been further redacted.
In sum, reversal is not warranted due to perceived evidentiary error.
DISPOSITION
The order extending defendant’s commitment is affirmed.
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_________________________
Fujisaki, J.
WE CONCUR:
_________________________
Tucher, P.J.
_________________________
Petrou, J.
People v. R.M (A165171)
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