In Jackson v. Superior Court, the Supreme Court today gives district attorneys some additional flexibility — but not a lot — in dealing with a criminal defendant who is incompetent to stand trial and who has been involuntarily committed to determine whether he or she is likely to regain competence.  The court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu holds that, after release from commitment, the defendant can be arrested under refiled charges and recommitted.  However, “the court is not permitted to ignore the fact that the defendant has already been committed” — the first and second commitments combined cannot exceed three years, which is the maximum commitment period allowed by statute.  When that time is up, the defendant must be placed under a conservatorship or released.  So, if a defendant’s first commitment already maxed out the commitment time, “the trial court’s options would be limited to initiating . . . conservatorship proceedings or again ordering the defendant released.”

The court affirms the Fourth District, Division Two, Court of Appeal.