People v. Lin
People v. Lin
Opinion of the Court
People v. Sanchez (2016)
Michael Lin appeals an order determining him to be an MDO and committing him to the State Department of State Hospitals *700for involuntary treatment. ( Pen. Code, § 2962 et seq. )
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On June 8, 2015, Lin pleaded nolo contendere to one count of assault with a deadly weapon. (§ 245, subd. (a)(1).) The circumstances of the criminal offense concerned Lin confronting police officers and brandishing a bow and arrow. Following Lin's plea, the Los Angeles County trial court sentenced him to a three-year prison term.
On May 26, 2016, the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) determined that Lin was an MDO pursuant to the criteria of section 2962. As a condition of parole, the Board required Lin to accept treatment from the State Department of State Hospitals. On May 31, 2016, Lin filed a petition pursuant to section 2966, subdivision (b) to contest this decision. After discussion with his counsel, Lin waived his right to a jury trial. A court trial followed. Among other things, the parties stipulated that Lin met the 90-day treatment requirement of section 2962, subdivision (c). The parties also agreed to admit into evidence the abstract of judgment and the written four-page felony advisement of rights, waiver, and plea form for the underlying assault with a deadly weapon conviction.
Expert Witness Testimony
Doctor Brandi Mathews, a forensic psychologist at Atascadero State Hospital, testified that she attempted to interview Lin on two occasions regarding the MDO requirements. The interviews were terminated after several minutes because Lin was agitated, paranoid, and uncooperative. Mathews reviewed Lin's state hospital medical records, his prior MDO evaluations, the probation officer's report, physicians' progress notes, psychological and psychiatric assessments, and interdisciplinary notes. She also consulted Lin's treating psychologist and psychiatrist. Mathews concluded that Lin satisfied the MDO criteria of section 2962.
Specifically, Mathews opined that Lin suffers from the severe mental disorder of schizophrenia, characterized by auditory hallucinations, paranoid symptoms, disorganized thinking, and grandiose delusions. She also concluded that his severe mental disorder was a cause of, or an aggravating factor in, the commission of the underlying assault with a deadly weapon offense. Mathews relied upon these factors: Lin's severe mental disorder predated the offense; he informed a doctor that he was hearing voices at the time of the offense; and his behavior during the offense was bizarre, requiring police officers to use a taser to subdue him.
Mathews also concluded that Lin's severe mental disorder was not in remission as of the date of the Board hearing and could not be kept in remission without treatment. She noted that assessments contained in his medical records described him as paranoid, and prison records noted his refusal to follow his medication regime. Last, she concluded that Lin represented a substantial danger of physical harm to others due to his severe mental disorder because his mental disorder was not in remission, he denied that he suffered from a severe mental disorder, and he did not participate in treatment.
The prosecutor did not present Lin's medical or prison records or prior MDO evaluations into evidence. Mathews's expert witness testimony provided the only evidence concerning application of the MDO criteria to Lin.
*701Lin's Statement
Lin made an unsworn narrative to the trial court and explained the underlying criminal offense as "[j]ust a protest." He also stated that his father owed him money and, for that reason, stated to police officers that he (defendant Lin) suffers from schizophrenia.
Findings, Order, and Appeal
The trial court determined that Lin met the requirements of section 2962 beyond a reasonable doubt. In ruling, the trial judge stated that she found Doctor Mathews's testimony persuasive concerning the relationship between Lin's severe mental disorder and the substantial danger of physical harm that he presents to others.
Lin appeals and contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney did not object to the case-specific hearsay evidence admitted through Mathews's expert witness testimony. ( People v. Sanchez , supra ,
DISCUSSION
Lin argues that the prejudicial hearsay evidence admitted by Mathews's testimony violates the Sanchez holding and denies him due process of law. ( Sanchez , supra ,
To establish a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel, defendant must establish that counsel's performance was deficient and that defendant suffered prejudice as a result. ( Strickland v. Washington (1984)
Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are, as a practical matter, difficult to decide on direct appeal. ( People v. Mickel , supra ,
Appellate courts presume that counsel's actions fall within the broad range of reasonableness and afford great deference to counsel's tactical decisions. ( People v. Mickel , supra ,
In Sanchez , supra ,
As the Attorney General suggests, for tactical reasons here counsel may have refrained from objecting to Mathews's testimony because counsel used portions of that testimony to prove that Lin did not present a substantial physical danger to others. Counsel elicited testimony that Lin had no criminal history other than the underlying offense, he currently has no medication regime, and he has not "acted out" physically at the hospital. And counsel may have determined that having Lin testify could have elicited unfavorable evidence in his defense.
Plausible speculation about what might have been a tactical decision, however, does not overcome what here is an insuperable barrier. Lin walked out of his interview, depriving Mathews of the opportunity to make an independent evaluation. The People's case was constructed on an edifice with an illusory foundation. Mathews's opinion was based on multiple hearsay statements that were not independently proven by competent evidence. This, Sanchez does not allow. There is no competent evidence to establish the statutory *703requirements of section 2962. By contrast in People v. Bona (2017)
We assume that in possible future hearings the trial court will follow the holdings of our Supreme Court in People v. Sivon g xxay (2017)
The order is reversed.
We concur:
PERREN, J.
TANGEMAN, J.
All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless stated otherwise.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.