What is a Murphy conservatorship, and how does it work?

A note before you start

This guide is general information for the United States, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. "Murphy conservatorship" is a California term for a narrow situation: a criminal defendant found incompetent to stand trial on a serious violent felony who is also dangerous because of a mental disorder. If a family member is facing this, a criminal defense attorney and the county Public Guardian's office are the two calls that matter most.

What is a Murphy conservatorship?

A Murphy conservatorship is a court-ordered arrangement under California's LPS Act letting the county Public Guardian take legal authority over a criminal defendant who cannot be tried because of a mental disorder and remains a danger to others. It fills a gap: once a court finds a defendant incompetent to stand trial and unlikely to regain competency, the criminal case cannot move forward, but the person may still be too dangerous to release. Named for the legislator who sponsored the 1974 amendment adding it, it lets the county hold and treat that person under civil, not criminal, authority (California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5008(h)(1)(B); Conservatorship of Lee C., 18 Cal.App.5th 1072, 2017, checked 2026-09-25).

How it differs from a standard LPS conservatorship

Both fall under the same "gravely disabled" statute but start from different facts. See our LPS conservatorship guide for the more common path, starting with a psychiatric hold rather than a criminal charge.

¹,⁶,¹⁰

A 2026 amendment broadened the general "gravely disabled" definition, subdivision (h)(1)(A), to also cover "a severe substance use disorder, or a co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder," but left the Murphy definition in subdivision (h)(1)(B) untouched: it still requires "a mental health disorder" alone, with no substance-use pathway¹.

What does it take to qualify for a Murphy conservatorship?

A court can only impose one when every condition below holds at once (California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5008(h)(1)(B), checked 2026-09-25):

1. The person has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial under Penal Code Section 1370.
2. The pending indictment or information charges a felony "involving death, great bodily harm, or a serious threat to the physical well-being of another person."
3. That charge has not been dismissed, and probable cause has been found through a preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding.
4. Because of a mental disorder, the person cannot understand the criminal proceedings against them or rationally assist their own attorney.
5. The person represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others because of a mental disease, defect or disorder.

All five must hold up in court; a Public Guardian finding even one unmet is expected to decline the case⁶.

How does a Murphy conservatorship start, step by step?

The process begins inside the criminal case, not with a family filing directly.

1. A criminal court finds the defendant incompetent to stand trial under Penal Code Section 1370, and the trial is suspended.
2. The defendant is committed for competency-restoration treatment, capped at two years or the maximum sentence for the charge, whichever is shorter, with a report due 90 days after commitment and every six months after⁴.
3. If the facility reports no substantial likelihood of regaining competency, the case returns to court within 10 days; if the person appears gravely disabled, the court must order the county's conservatorship investigator, typically the Public Guardian, to open an investigation⁴.
4. The Public Guardian investigates whether all five criteria are met and decides whether to file a petition. It can decline, but a court can review that decision for legal error⁶.
5. If filed, the proposed conservatee gets notice, a right to an attorney at state expense, and the right to a jury trial, which must generally start within 10 days of demand, though the court must grant a continuance of up to 15 days if the conservatee's own attorney requests one².
6. The county must prove every criterion beyond a reasonable doubt. If it does, the court appoints the Public Guardian as conservator for up to one year¹,⁶.

What can a Murphy conservator do, and what does the conservatee keep?

Once appointed, the Public Guardian can place the conservatee in a locked psychiatric facility or state hospital and consent to treatment on their behalf, including medication, even over objection⁸,⁹. The criminal charge stays pending and suspended for as long as the conservatorship continues, since the unresolved charge is one of the conditions keeping it in place⁶. The conservatee keeps rights the order does not expressly limit, including an attorney and a jury trial at each renewal²,⁹. Placement also works differently than in a standard LPS case: Disability Rights California's handbook notes a conservator can move a standard conservatee to a less restrictive placement without asking the court first, "unless you are on a conservatorship because you were found Incompetent to Stand Trial," in which case the conservator needs the court's permission first⁹.

How much does a Murphy conservatorship cost a family?

There is no filing fee for the family, since only the Public Guardian can petition. If the conservatee has money or property, the court can approve compensation to the conservator and any attorney involved, charged to the conservatee's estate⁵. If the conservatee has no assets, the county generally absorbs the cost. A family that hires its own attorney to contest the Public Guardian's decision pays that attorney directly.

How is a Murphy conservatorship renewed or ended?

It expires automatically one year after the court appoints the conservator³. To continue it, the Public Guardian must petition again before that date with current opinions from two physicians or licensed psychologists, plus an attestation that less restrictive alternatives were considered and confirming the person still meets the criteria³. At each renewal the county again carries the burden beyond a reasonable doubt, and the conservatee can again demand a jury trial¹,⁶. It can end earlier if a rehearing finds the person no longer meets the criteria.

Does this exist outside California?

"Murphy conservatorship" is a California-specific term inside the LPS Act. Every state has its own procedure for a defendant found incompetent to stand trial who cannot be restored, and some have their own civil commitment path for a person who remains dangerous, but the name and process are set separately by each state's law. Search "[your state] incompetent to stand trial civil commitment," or ask the defense attorney what happens next there. Our guardian vs. conservatorship comparison explains the broader terminology difference that carries across states.

What should a family record in a family guide?

A Murphy conservatorship case generates contacts and dates that are easy to lose track of during a stressful year:

• County Public Guardian office name and phone number
• Criminal case number, court, and defense attorney of record
• Assigned Public Guardian caseworker's name and contact information
• Current placement (state hospital, locked facility) and its contact information
• Conservatorship case number in the civil or probate court
• The one-year term's expiration date, with a reminder set 60 days ahead
• Patients' rights advocate contact information, if assigned
• A copy of the court's letter of conservatorship, the document the Public Guardian uses to prove its authority to facilities and agencies

This is the kind of information a family guide, such as the one Omliva helps families build, keeps in one place instead of scattered across court paperwork.

Murphy conservatorship checklist for families

• Confirm the criminal case has reached a Penal Code Section 1370 incompetency finding

• Ask the defense attorney directly whether a Murphy conservatorship referral is being considered

• Identify the county Public Guardian office and its investigator or caseworker

• Ask which of the five statutory criteria are actually in dispute

• Note the hearing date and whether a jury trial has been demanded

• Confirm current placement and facility contact information

• Ask about a patients' rights advocate for the conservatee

• Record the expiration date and set a renewal reminder

• Ask what, if anything, will be charged to the conservatee's estate

• Keep copies of every court order, physician declaration and placement notice together

What mistakes do families commonly make?

• Assuming the conservatorship resolves the criminal case. It does not; the charge stays pending throughout⁶.
• Assuming a family member can serve as conservator. Only the Public Guardian can, unlike a standard LPS or probate conservatorship⁸.
• Confusing this with the unrelated 1982 case Conservatorship of Murphy, about a different conservatee in Siskiyou County, not a criminal defendant, and grave disability from alcoholism. That case set the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used in LPS reestablishment trials⁷; the term comes from the 1974 legislative sponsor⁶.
• Missing the renewal deadline, since the Public Guardian needs time to obtain two current physician opinions before the term expires³.
• Not asking whether a Public Guardian's refusal to pursue a case rested on a correct reading of the law; that decision is itself subject to court review⁶.

When to get professional help

Get a criminal defense attorney involved as soon as a competency question comes up; they can push for or against a conservatorship referral, and stay on the case while it is suspended. Bring in a conservatorship attorney or lawyer for conservatorship to contest a petition, dispute a renewal, or challenge how the criteria are applied. A patients' rights advocate, through the county behavioral health department, can help the conservatee understand their hearing rights at no cost.