In People v. Safell (1979) 25 Cal.3d 223, one of the questions before the court was whether the appellant, a convicted felon, committed for treatment as a mentally disordered sex offender (hereafter MDSO) ( Welf. & Inst. Code, 6300 et seq.), was entitled to have his or her treatment period reduced by the same "good behavior and participation credits" that his prison sentence would have been reduced by under section 2931. Since differing periods of confinement for identical conduct were being imposed, the court recognized that the patient's liberty, a fundamental interest, had been restricted unequally, and required that the state prove a compelling interest in permitting the disparity. Pointing to several ways in which good time/work time is inappropriate in the MDSO setting, the court held that the disparity was justifiable. (25 Cal.3d at pp. 234-235.)