People v. Foster

Summary

The court held that redesignating Foster’s qualifying felony as a misdemeanor did not invalidate his initial MDO commitment or prevent later recommitments, because initial commitment and recommitment are governed by different criteria and the redesignation did not operate retroactively to disturb the completed initial commitment. The court also rejected Foster’s equal protection claim because the comparison authorities involved commitments that were invalid from the outset, unlike Foster’s valid initial commitment. The court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s judgment.