Monday, September 19, 2016

People v. White (Cal. Ct. App. - Sept. 19, 2016)

Today's opinion is another in a long series of SVP cases.  You get used to reading these things pretty much every week or so.  So maybe you get a little jaded.

Yet something about the first paragraph stuck out to me:

"The issue in this case is whether a defendant’s various mental conditions,1 including frotteuristic disorder, exhibitionist disorder, bipolar disorder, and anti-social disorder, which two experts opined would likely result in future acts of sexual battery, satisfy the requirement of the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA) that a defendant 'will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.'"

Hmmm.  "Frotteuristic disorder,"  Haven't heard that term before.  I know those other terms; I get what exhibitionism is, bipolar disorder, etc.  I even know some other terms you get used to in these SVP cases; pedophilia, etc.  But the old "frotteuristic disorder"?  Nope.  Don't know it.

So I looked it up.  Apparently it means that you really, really, really like rubbing up against a non-consenting person.  Generally with your penis.

Oh.  That!  Yeah, I'm familiar with the concept.  Just didn't know the term.

But now I do.

Let's hear it for education.

As it turns out, though, I didn't even need to look it up.  Because as you read the rest of the opinion, you inevitably discover -- via context -- what that term means.  Because if there ever was a guy who likes rubbing up against a non-consenting person with his penis, it's Mr. White.  And Justice Kreigler describes at length all the various times throughout history that Mr. White has indulged his apparent passion.

Let's just say, without elaboration, that it's a lot of disturbing touching.  A shocking, depressing, deeply disturbing amount.

And as for the dispositive issue of whether Mr. White is an SVP who's going to stay locked up -- very possibly for the rest of his life, notwithstanding his full service of his sentence -- let's just say you can figure out how the case comes out from the Court of Appeal's recitation of his history both in prison and in the hospital.  Wholly apart from all the "rubbing" he does when outside and in the real world (which, again, is a ton of rubbing):

"Defendant incurred 47 serious prison rules violations while incarcerated, including six sex offenses, three acts of physical aggression, three threatening acts, two instances of possessing weapons, and 11 instances of verbal aggression. The sexual incidents include asking to masturbate in front of a female intern, exposing his erect penis, and masturbating in front of female staff. Defendant was sent to Coalinga State Hospital in 2008 after a parole violation.

At Coalinga, defendant engaged in instances of indecent exposure, verbal sexual aggression, verbal non-sexual aggression, and property damage. Between April 2009 and June 2011, there were 13 indecent exposures, 11 acts of physical aggression, and 33 threats. Between July 2011 to November 2013, there were 12 exposures, 22 acts of physical aggression, 36 threats, 10 instances of verbal sexual aggression, 46 verbal nonsexual aggression, 39 property damage, and 14 instances of contraband possession. From December 2013 through July 2015, there were two exposures documented, one act of physical aggression, three threats, two acts of verbal sexual aggression, four acts of nonsexual verbal aggression, two property damage, and two instances of possession of contraband. There were additional acts of misconduct including frequent sexual comments to female staff, grabbing his clothed penis, and exposing himself to a female medical technician."

Yeah.  There's pretty much no doubt how this case is going to come out, now, is there?

Nope.  None whatsoever.