California statute
Cal. Penal Code § 1370.5
Current through 2025–2026 Regular Session (leginfo weekly dump, 2026-07-12)
Part of Chapter 6: Inquiry into the Competence of the Defendant Before Trial or After Conviction, California Penal Code.
Full text of Cal. Penal Code § 1370.5
Statutory text current through the 2025–2026 Regular Session (leginfo weekly dump, 2026-07-12). This publication reproduces the official statutory text; it is not the official statutes of the State of California.
(a) A person committed to a state hospital or other public or private mental health facility pursuant to the provisions of Section 1370, 1370.01, 1370.02, or 1370.1, who escapes from or who escapes while being conveyed to or from a state hospital or facility, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year or in the state prison for a determinate term of one year and one day. The term of imprisonment imposed pursuant to this section shall be served consecutively to any other sentence or commitment. (b) The medical director or person in charge of a state hospital or other public or private mental health facility to which a person has been committed pursuant to the provisions of Section 1370, 1370.01, 1370.02, or 1370.1 shall promptly notify the chief of police of the city in which the hospital or facility is located, or the sheriff of the county if the hospital or facility is located in an unincorporated area, of the escape of the person, and shall request the assistance of the chief of police or sheriff in apprehending the person, and shall within 48 hours of the escape of the person orally notify the court that made the commitment, the prosecutor in the case, and the Department of Justice of the escape.
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