The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (“LPS Act”) permits the appointment of a conservator for up to a period of one year for a person determined to be gravely disabled within the meaning of the Act. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5350, 5361.) An LPS conservatorship is only for people who are seriously mentally ill and need special care (usually placement in a locked facility and/or very powerful drugs to control behavior). Id.

“An LPS conservatorship automatically expires after one year....” (Conservatorship of George H. (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 157, 165. citing Sec. 5361)

Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5352, allows "the professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment" to recommend that a county begin such proceedings when that person "determines that a person in his care is gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder . . . and is unwilling to accept, or incapable of accepting, treatment voluntarily." Under those circumstances, a temporary conservatorship lasting no more than 30 days may be established on the basis of a professional's declaration....” (Sec. 5352.1(a).)

Proposed Conservatee's Right to Jury Trial

The Act provides that the person who is the subject of the petition has the right to demand a jury trial on the issue of grave disability. (Conservatorship of Kevin M. (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 79, 84.) “Demand for court or jury trial shall be made within five days following the hearing on the conservatorship petition.... (Id.) “[T]rial shall commence within 10 days of the date of the demand, except that the court shall continue the trial date for a period not to exceed 15 days upon the request of counsel for the proposed conservatee.” Id. citing Sec. 5350(d)(1) & (2).

"Grave disability can be based on an inability to provide for food, clothing, or shelter. It does not require a finding that a proposed conservatee cannot provide for her food, clothing, and shelter" (Conservatorship of Carol K. (2010) 188 CA4th 123, 135.)

“‘If a person is found gravely disabled and a conservatorship is established, the conservatee does not forfeit legal rights or suffer legal disabilities merely by virtue of the disability.’” (Conservatorship of George H. (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 157, 165.). “‘The court must separately determine the duties and powers of the conservator, the disabilities imposed on the conservatee, and the level of placement appropriate for the conservatee.’” (Id.) “‘The party seeking conservatorship has the burden of producing evidence to support the disabilities sought, the placement, and the powers of the conservator, and the conservatee may produce evidence in rebuttal.’” (Id.)

“Because [...] it is solely the province of the court to determine the proper placement of the conservatee, the disabilities to impose, and the duties and powers of the conservator, a court may not accept a stipulated judgment on these issues without first consulting the conservatee and obtaining on the record his express consent.” (Conservatorship of Christopher A. 139 Cal.App.4th 604, 610.)

LPS Act and Privacy of Records

The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (“LPS”) provides that information and records retained by community mental health centers in the provision of mental health services “shall be confidential.” (Welf. & Inst. Code § 5328, subd. (a).) However, LPS provides an exception for disclosure “[t]o the courts, as necessary to the administration of justice.” (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5328(a)(6).)

Temporary Holds and the LPS Act

Involuntary treatment of the mentally ill in California is governed by the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5150.) Under the LPS Act a designated facility, like a hospital, may detain an individual for up to 72 hours for evaluation and treatment if there is “probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of a mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled.” (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5150.)

It was designed for the prompt evaluation and treatment of persons with serious mental disorders…”[t]o guarantee and protect public safety, (and to) safeguard individual rights through judicial review.” (People v. Triplett (1983) 144 Cal.App.3d 283, 286, citing Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5001.) The LPS Act also provides for "escalating periods of involuntary confinement for persons described in the Act in approved psychiatric facilities within the county of detention…" (Id.)

The LPS Act is “a comprehensive scheme designed to address a variety of circumstances in which a member of the general population may have to be evaluated or treated for different lengths of time. (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5150 (short-term emergency evaluation); § 5250 (intensive 14-day treatment); § 5300 (180-day commitment for the imminently dangerous); §5260 (extended commitment for the suicidal); Sec. 5350 (30-day temporary conservatorship or one-year conservatorship for the gravely disabled).” (Cooley v. Superior Court (2002) 29 Cal.4th 228, 253.)