(a)
(1)The court, upon receiving a petition for unconditional discharge, shall order a show cause hearing at which the court can consider the petition and any accompanying documentation provided by the medical director, the prosecuting attorney, or the committed person.
(2)
If the court at the show cause hearing determines that
probable cause exists to believe that the committed person’s diagnosed mental disorder has so changed that he or she is not a danger to the health and safety of others and is not likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior if discharged, then the court shall set a hearing on the issue.
(3)
At the hearing, the committed person shall have the right to be present and shall be entitled to the benefit of all constitutional protections that were afforded to him or her at the initial commitment proceeding. The attorney designated by the county pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 6601 shall represent the state and shall have the right to demand a jury trial and to have the committed person evaluated by experts chosen by the state. The committed person also shall have the right to demand a jury trial and to have experts
evaluate him or her on his or her behalf. The court shall appoint an expert if the person is indigent and requests an appointment. The burden of proof at the hearing shall be on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the committed person’s diagnosed mental disorder remains such that he or she is a danger to the health and safety of others and is likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior if discharged. Where the person’s failure to participate in or complete treatment is relied upon as proof that the person’s condition has not changed, and there is evidence to support that reliance, the jury shall be instructed substantially as follows:
“The committed person’s failure to participate in or complete the State Department of State Hospitals Sex Offender Commitment Program (SOCP) are facts that, if proved, may be considered as evidence
that the committed person’s condition has not changed. The weight to be given that evidence is a matter for the jury to determine.”
(b)
If the court or jury rules against the committed person at the hearing conducted pursuant to subdivision (a), the term of commitment of the person shall run for an indeterminate period from the date of this ruling and the committed person may not file a new petition until one year has elapsed from the date of the ruling. If the court or jury rules for the committed person, he or she shall be unconditionally released and unconditionally discharged.
(c)
If the State Department of State Hospitals has reason to believe that a person committed to it as a sexually violent predator is no longer a sexually violent predator, it shall seek judicial review of the
person’s commitment pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 7250 in the superior court from which the commitment was made. If the superior court determines that the person is no longer a sexually violent predator, he or she shall be unconditionally released and unconditionally discharged.