P. v. Lowe
Appellant challenges a court order placing him under a Murphy conservatorship[1] on the basis of a jury’s findings that he is gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder, and poses a substantial danger of physical harm to others. Appellant does not contest the finding that he has a disabling mental disorder, but argues the jury’s verdict on his dangerousness must be reversed due to procedural errors at trial.
Specifically, appellant argues the trial court: (1) abused its discretion by permitting a deputy sheriff to accompany appellant to the witness stand; (2) erroneously admitted into evidence portions of appellant’s hospital file that did not qualify as a business record and were prejudicial to appellant; and (3) violated appellant’s constitutional rights by ruling that appellant could be compelled to testify at trial, and could be questioned about the incident that gave rise to the criminal charges on which appellant was found incompetent to stand trial. We conclude that the jury’s verdict on dangerousness was not the product of any prejudicial error, and therefore affirm the conservatorship order.
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