People v. Redus
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Redus was committed to the Department of State Hospitals in 1975, after being found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI) of murder in the stabbing death of his common-law wife. In July 2017, the San Francisco County District Attorney filed a petition under Penal Code 1026.5 to extend Redus’s civil commitment for two years. In 2019, the court found that the petition had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and ordered Redus’s commitment extended until December 2019.
On appeal, Redus argued that substantial evidence does not support the court’s finding that his mental illness causes him serious difficulty controlling potentially dangerous behavior, and double jeopardy principles preclude retrial or further commitment extensions and that the commitment extension order must be reversed because the trial court failed to advise him of his right to a jury trial and to ensure that he knowingly, intelligently, and unconditionally waived that right.
The court of appeal found the appeal moot. Redus’s most recent commitment extension has now expired. Redus’s substantial evidence claim is, however, an issue that is likely to recur, but evade review. The court stated that its analysis may be relevant as guidance in future proceedings related to Redus’s potential recommitment. The court concluded that the evidence did not provide the required link between Redus’s ongoing mental illness and his purported difficulty in controlling his potentially dangerous behavior.
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