The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Christine Barrett, Defendant — Liu, J., Concurring in Part and Dissenting…

Summary

Justice Liu concurred in the judgment affirming Barrett’s commitment but dissented from the rejection of her equal protection challenge. He would hold that persons facing commitment under section 6500 are entitled to the same jury-trial advisement provided to persons facing comparable commitment under section 5300 because the distinction lacks a factually supported rational basis under the California Constitution. Justice Werdegar, concurring in part and dissenting in part, joined Liu’s equal protection reasoning and agreed that the advisement error was harmless.