PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California prosecutor is arguing that the public defender representing the man charged with kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard has no legal right to try to move her client's upcoming competency hearing outside the county where the case is being heard.

El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson said in court papers posted Wednesday that California law requires pretrial proceedings to be conducted in their originating jurisdictions.

A hearing to determine if Phillip Garrido is mentally competent to face trial is scheduled to start on Feb. 28. Pierson says he wants a jury to hear the evidence and render a verdict on the matter.

Garrido's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Susan Gellman, has said she might ask to have the hearing transferred to another county because the case has gotten so much publicity, but has not formally moved for a change of venue.