(a) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, the court, if it concludes that a just disposition of the case requires such diagnosis and treatment services as can be provided at a diagnostic facility of the Department of Corrections, may order that defendant be placed temporarily in such facility for a period not to exceed 90 days, with the further provision in such order that the Director of the Department of Corrections report to the court his diagnosis and recommendations concerning the defendant within the 90-day period.
(b) The Director of the Department of Corrections shall, within the 90 days, cause defendant to be observed and examined and shall forward to the court his diagnosis and recommendation concerning the disposition of defendant’s case. Such diagnosis and recommendation shall be embodied in a written report and copies of the report shall be served only upon the defendant or his counsel, the probation officer, and the prosecuting attorney by the court receiving such report. After delivery of the copies of the report, the information contained therein shall not be disclosed to anyone else without the consent of the defendant. After disposition of the case, all copies of the report, except the one delivered to the defendant or his counsel, shall be filed in a sealed file and shall be available thereafter only to the defendant or his counsel, the prosecuting attorney, the court, the probation officer, or the Department of Corrections.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the probation officer may retain a copy of the report for the purpose of supervision of the defendant if the defendant is placed on probation by the court. The report and information contained therein shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone else without the written consent of the defendant. Upon the completion or termination of probation, the copy of the report shall be returned by the probation officer to the sealed file prescribed in subdivision (b).
(d) The Department of Corrections shall designate the place to which a person referred to it under the provisions of this section shall be transported. After the receipt of any such person, the department may return the person to the referring court if the director of the department, in his discretion, determines that the staff and facilities of the department are inadequate to provide such services.
(e) The sheriff of the county in which an order is made placing a defendant in a diagnostic facility pursuant to this section, or any other peace officer designated by the court, shall execute the order placing such defendant in the center or returning him therefrom to the court. The expense of such sheriff or other peace officer incurred in executing such order is a charge upon the county in which the court is situated.
(f) It is the intention of the Legislature that the diagnostic facilities made available to the counties by this section shall only be used for the purposes designated and not in lieu of sentences to local facilities.
(g) Time spent by a defendant in confinement in a diagnostic facility of the Department of Corrections pursuant to this section or as an inpatient of the California Rehabilitation Center shall be credited on the term of imprisonment in state prison, if any, to which defendant is sentenced in the case.
(h) In any case in which a defendant has been placed in a diagnostic facility pursuant to this section and, in the course of his confinement, he is determined to be suffering from a remediable condition relevant to his criminal conduct, the department may, with the permission of defendant, administer treatment for such condition. If such treatment will require a longer period of confinement than the period for which defendant was placed in the diagnostic facility, the Director of Corrections may file with the court which placed defendant in the facility a petition for extension of the period of confinement, to which shall be attached a writing signed by defendant giving his consent to the extension. If the court finds the petition and consent in order, it may order the extension, and transmit a copy of the order to the Director of Corrections.
(Amended by Stats. 1977, Ch. 165.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018