The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Christine Barrett, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court affirmed Barrett's one-year civil commitment after a nonjury trial, holding that section 6500 proceedings do not require the court to advise the person of the jury right or obtain a personal waiver before proceeding without a jury. Counsel controls the tactical decision whether to request a jury, and the absence of a defense request supports a valid waiver. The court also rejected Barrett's equal protection challenge because persons subject to section 6500 proceedings are not similarly situated to persons subject to the other commitment scheme for purposes of jury advisements. Justice Liu, joined in substance by Justice Werdegar, would have found an equal protection violation but agreed the error was harmless and therefore concurred in the result.