P. v. Belin
Defendant and appellant Linda Belin appeals from the trial court’s judgment affirming her continued involuntary treatment at Patton State Hospital (Patton) as a mentally disordered offender (MDO) pursuant to Penal Code section 2970.[1] Defendant makes the following claims on appeal:
1. The People did not provide sufficient evidence to prove she represented a substantial danger of physical harm to others due to a severe mental disorder as required in the MDO law.
2. The phrase “substantial danger of physical harm” in sections 2962 and 2970 is unconstitutionally vague.
3. The trial court erroneously allowed the expert witness to describe otherwise inadmissible and prejudicial hearsay evidence in violation of her due process right to a fair trial.
4. The California Supreme Court’s recent case of People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 655 (Sanchez) which clarified the admission of expert testimony in gang cases pursuant to Evide
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