Right to counsel

California provides a right to counsel for indigent respondents in various types of civil commitment proceedings.

Commitment of developmentally disabled individuals

Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 6500(b)(5) provides that in proceedings for commitment of persons dangerous to self or others, “the person alleged to have a developmental disability shall be informed of his or her right to counsel by the court, and if the person does not have an attorney for the proceedings, the court shall immediately appoint the public defender or other attorney to represent him or her.”  If the individual is able to pay for attorneys’ fees, they must do so. Id.; see also Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 4801(a) (addressing a party committed as a developmentally disabled patient, and requiring patient to pay attorney fees if able).

In 2023, California passed SB 138 to amend § 6500 to provide that commitment orders entered on or after July 1, 2024 “shall expire automatically six months after the earlier of the order of commitment pursuant to this section or the order of a placement pursuant to Section 6506,” unless the facility informs the court in writing of the need for an extension prior to the expiration. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 6500(c)(4). The provision specifies that “This paragraph does not preclude the individual or a person acting on the person’s behalf from making a request for release pursuant to Section 4800, or counsel for the individual from filing a petition for habeas corpus pursuant to Section 4801.” Id.; see also Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 4801 (“The adult requesting to be released shall be informed of his or her right to counsel … and if he or she does not have an attorney for the proceedings, the court shall immediately appoint the public defender or other attorney to assist him or her in the preparation of a petition for the writ of habeas corpus and to represent him or her in the proceedings. The person shall pay the costs of those legal services if he or she is able.”).

Commitment of incarcerated individuals

See Cal. Penal Code § 1240.1(a) (“In any … civil commitment case wherein the defendant would be entitled to the appointment of counsel on appeal if indigent, it shall be the duty of the attorney who represented the person at trial to provide counsel and advice as to whether arguably meritorious grounds exist for reversal or modification of the judgment on appeal”); Cal. Penal Code § 2972 (requiring appointment of county public defender for indigent person in hearing to commit civilly prisoner to facility after completion of sentence due to mental disorder).