Chapter 7
California Juvenile Law
JUVENILES AND CALIFORNIA LAW
Are there more juveniles in California juvenile facilities than ever before? Are juveniles
actually arrested? Since crime rates and incarceration rates are dropping steadily, it is no surprise that the number of juveniles in custodial settings is also declining.Since reaching a high of 10,122 juveniles in 1996, the number of youths committed to the DJJ by juvenile and superior courts has steadily declined. As of June 30, 2011, the DJJ’s current population is now approximately 1,193.[1]
While juveniles may be held in custodial settings, a different term is used than “arrests.” Some agencies refer to them as juvenile contacts or juvenile detentions, not “arrests.” Because the intent of California law is not to punish juveniles but to rehabilitate them, they aren’t actually “arrested,” but are taken into more of a protected custody status. Remember, juveniles get no bail or trial. They have a juvenile “hearing” with a judicial “referee,” not a trial, jury, and judge. While they do have the right to due process, they are essentially in a less adversarial process than an adult (or “youthful offender”).
Juveniles in Custody—Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) [2]
The DJJ is a division in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose secretary reports directly to the governor and serves on his or her cabinet.
It should be noted that under the Welfare and Institutions code 203,juvenile court proceedings are notcriminal proceedings: An order adjudging a minor to be a ward of the juvenile court shall not be deemed a conviction of a crime for any purpose, nor shall a proceeding in the juvenile court be deemed a criminal proceeding.
YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS
Note that there is both a “juvenile” definition and a “youthful offender” definition.
The DJJ receives its youthful offender population from both juvenile and superior court referrals. The term youthful offendersrefers to those juveniles who have been charged and sentenced as adults in California. They are between the ages of 14 and 17. They cannot be housed with either juvenile offenders or with adult offenders (18 and over) and must be housed/transported under separate facilities. The DJJ does provide housing for juveniles under the age of 18 who have been sentenced to the Adult Division.
Status Offenses
Juveniles (those under 18) are not generally liable for criminal prosecution in adult court unless the prosecution decides to charge them as such. Most juveniles are processed in juvenile hearings, and many of the “charges” really may be little more than “status offenses.”
This means those things that would not necessarily be “illegal” but for the fact that the juvenile’s age restricts him or her from certain activities. This includes underage drinking, smoking cigarettes, getting a tattoo, or violating curfew or truancy laws.
Minors Charged as Adults
When a crime is committed by a juvenile (minor) who is deemed, because of the seriousness of the crime, to be eligible to be tried as an adult, the following section applies:
W&I 707.1, Filing of Accusatory Pleading When Minor Unfit for Juvenile Court
(a)If the minor isdeclared not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the juvenile court law, or as to a minor for whom charges in a petition or petitions in the juvenile court have been transferred to a court of criminal jurisdiction pursuant to Section 707.01, the district attorney, or other appropriate prosecuting officer may file an accusatory pleading against the minor in a court of criminal jurisdiction.The case shall proceed from that point according to the laws applicable to a criminal case. If a prosecution has been commenced in another court but has been suspended while juvenile court proceedings are being held, it shall be ordered that the proceedings upon that prosecution shall resume.
Also in W&I 707.1, while minors are not entitled to bail, in these cases:
(b)(4)A minor found not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the juvenile court law shall, upon the conclusion of the fitness hearing, be entitled to release on bail or on his or her own recognizance on the same circumstances, terms, and conditions as an adult alleged to have committed the same offense.
The rationale is that the offender is technically allowed the same rights as an adult, and thus may obtain bail.
TRENDS
The trend today, even with court mandates, is to release offenders into the community. This is referred to also as “Community Corrections,” where the local counties assume responsibility for both adult and “youthful offenders” being released from state institutions.
Under the terms ofThe Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2010, counties were to gradually assume juvenile supervision, and courts were toestablish the conditions for supervision, assuming that responsibility from the Juvenile Parole Board.According a CDCR News Release, DJJ Chief Deputy Secretary Rachel Rios said, “This shift of parole supervision to the counties reinforces a trend that gives local officials more responsibility for the rehabilitation of youth who live in their communities.” [3]Juvenile Offenders committed directly to the DJJ do not receive determinate sentences.
Juveniles are called “wards,” not inmates, as they are technically “wards of the state.” A ward’s period of incarceration is determined by the severity of the committing offense and the offender's progress toward parole readiness. In addition, the DJJ’s jurisdiction for the most serious offenders ends on the offender’s 25th birthday.
In California, there are very strict regulations separating juvenile offender from adults. The Division of Juvenile Justice can hold youthful offenders up to the age of 25 who have the most serious criminal backgrounds and most intense treatment needs. Most juvenile offenders today are committed to county facilities in their home community where they can be closer to their families and local social services that are vital to rehabilitation. As a result, DJJ’s population represents less than one percent of the 225,000 youths arrested in California each year, but it is a specialized group with needs that cannot be addressed by county programs.
Article 13, Section 1521. Restrictions on (Juvenile) Contact with Adult Prisoners.
The facility administrator shall establish policies and procedures which ensure that contact between detained minors and adults confined in the facility shall be restricted as follows:
(a)no communication between minors and adult prisoners shall be allowed;
(b)situations in which a minor and an adult prisoner may be in the same room, area, or corridor are limited to:
(1)booking;
(2)awaiting visiting or sick call;
(3)inmate workers present while performing work necessary for the operation of the facility, such as meal service and janitorial services;
(4)movement of prisoners in custody within the facility; and,
(5)supervised program activities pursuant to Section 208 (c) of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(c)When an adult prisoner, including an inmate worker, is present, facility staff trained in the supervision of inmates shall maintain a constant side by side presence with either the minor or the adult to assure there are no communications between the minor and the adult.
(d)This section does not apply to minors detained pursuant to Section 208.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.[4]
THE SENTENCING PROCESS
To be sentenced, one has to have been arrested, given due process rights, gone through a trial or at least at plea bargain, and then be sentenced to either a period of time either in the local “jail,” under the auspices of the local city or county, or in state prison.However, the following has to occur first:
California Penal Code, Part 2. Criminal Procedure; Preliminary Provisions (related to punishments-sentencing). Note differences when dealing with Juveniles:
PC§ 681.No person can be punished for a public offense, except upon a legal conviction in a Court having jurisdiction thereof.
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODES AND PENAL CODES
Minors generally fall under either W&I 601.Disobedient or Truant Minor - Jurisdiction of Juvenile Court or W&I 602:
W&I 601. Disobedient or Truant Minor – Jurisdiction of Juvenile Court
(a)Any person under the age of 18 years who persistently or habitually refuses to obey the reasonable and proper orders or directions of his or her parents, guardian, or custodian, or who is beyond the control of that person, or who is under the age of 18 years when he or she violated any ordinance of any city or county of this state establishing a curfew based solely on age is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court.
W&I 602. Minor in Violation of Law
In this section those under 18 who violate any other law but a curfew may be made a ward of the court. If the person is 14 years of age or olderand under the age of 18, and is accused of committing one of the following offenses shall be prosecuted under the general law in a court of criminal jurisdiction:
(1)Murder, as described in Section 187 of the Penal Code, if oneof the circumstances enumerated in subdivision (a) of Section 190.2of the Penal Code is alleged by the prosecutor, and the prosecutoralleges that the minor personally killed the victim.
(2)The following sex offenses, if the prosecutor alleges that the minor personally committed the offense, and if the prosecutor alleges one of the circumstances enumerated in the One Strike law, subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 667.61 of the Penal Code, applies:
[List of sex offenses]
(These individuals are the ones referred to as “youthful offenders.” They aren’t really juveniles and they aren’t really adults. As a result, they fall into a unique category.)
W&I 627.5.Advisement of Minor’s Rights – Right to Counsel
How many of you would have been able to understand and appreciate the ability to notincriminate yourself if the police had questioned you about a crime that occurred in the neighborhood, perhaps even as a result of a fight or stealing some items from a neighbor’s garage? It appears that many minors under 18 still “waive” their right to counsel. And they do so without an appreciation of their constitutional rights. In California, in any case where a minor is in custody, a probation officer shall immediately advise the minor and his parent or guardian that anything the minor says can be used against him and shall advise them of the minor’s constitutional rights, including his right to remain silent, his right to have counsel present during any interrogation, and his right to have counsel appointed if he is unable to afford counsel.
In order to protect the minor’s rights to not incriminate himself, knowing that the minor’s own words may and will be used against him, and if the minor or his parent or guardian requests counsel, the probation officer shall notify the judge of the juvenile court of such request and counsel for the minor shall be appointed pursuant to Section 634.
Also of note, W&I 634: When it appears to the court that the minor or his parent or guardian desires counsel but is unable to afford and cannot for that reason employ counsel, the court may appoint counsel.
W&I 630.1. Minor’s Counsel: Notification of Hearings
Upon reasonable notification by counsel representing the minor, his parents or guardian, the clerk of the court shall notify such counsel of the hearings in the manner provided for notice to the parent or guardian of the minor …
PC§ 682. Indictment or Information Required; Exceptions
Similar to adults, juveniles must also be charged with either an indictment or information; however, they are not entitled to bail or a jury.
W&I 632. Detention Hearings
Note differences for juveniles vs. adults: Minors taken into custody shall, as soon as possible but in any event before the expiration of the next judicial day after a petition to declare the minor a ward or dependent child has been filed, be brought before a judge or referee of the juvenile court for a hearing to determine whether the minor shall be further detained. Such a hearing shall be referred to as a “detention hearing.”
PC§ 684. State (of California) a Necessary Party
A criminal action is prosecuted in the name of the people of the State of California, as a party, against the person charged with the offense.
PC§ 685. Accused Named Defendant
The party prosecuted in a criminal action is designated in this Codeas the defendant.
PC§ 686. Right to Speedy Trial, to Counsel, to Witnesses, and to Confront Accuser
In a criminal action the defendant is entitled:
1.To a speedy and public trial.
2.To be allowed counsel as in civil actions, or to appear and defend in person and with counsel, except that in a capital case he shall be represented in court by counsel at all stages of the preliminary and trial proceedings.
3.To produce witnesses on his behalf and to be confronted with the witnesses against him, in the presence of the court, except that:
(a)Hearsay evidence may be admitted to the extent that it is otherwise admissible in a criminal action under the law of this state.
(b)The deposition of a witness taken in the action may be read to the extent that it is otherwise admissible under the law of this state.
CAREER CHOICES
SamplesofJob Descriptions for Juvenile Facilities:
There are 58 counties in California and each of them hasjuvenile divisions, juvenile counselors, or juvenile probation officers.
- The job announcement for a Juvenile Hall Counselor I includes the following description:
Under close supervision, provides for the care, custody and discipline of juveniles; helps to ensure and sustain a safe and secure environment for juveniles; coordinates counseling and behavior modification activities associated with the operation of Juvenile Hall.
Education, Experience, Certifications and Licenses:
•High School diploma or equivalent GED certificate.
•One (1) year of experience involving the supervision, care, and leadership of juvenile groups of adolescent youth, outside of the home.
•(60) Units earned for course work completed through a college or university accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or from an institution authorized to award degrees pursuant to Section 94900 of the California Education Code may be substituted for the required experience.
•Must obtain and maintain a valid California PC 832 Peace Officer Certificate within one (1) year.
•Must pass a stringent background investigation including fingerprinting, records checks, a written and oral psychological exam, and medical evaluation.
•Must possess State of California Driver’s license.
- Another example:
Detention Services Officer (LA County) Position:Supervises the activities of juveniles who are detained in one of the three juvenile halls located in Los Angeles, Sylmar, and Downey. Incumbents serve as a member of a small team responsible for the order and security of a unit of juveniles, provides situational counseling as necessary, and transports Juveniles to medical care facilities, courts or other locations. Detention Services Officers must be able to physically restrain combative juveniles.
Essential Job Functions:Supervises detained juveniles in their activities within the unit, on work assignments, during recreation periods, on medical or dental appointments, or awaiting court appearances. Maintains order and control of a unit and takes appropriate action in connection with rule infractions or other disturbances. Maintains institutional security and takes appropriate action to prevent escapes. Supervises the movement of juveniles within and outside the facility. Controls and restrains combative or emotionally disturbed juveniles. Provides situational counseling to assist individual juveniles through their daily routines. Observes and records the behavior of juveniles and confers with the supervisor about problem juveniles.
Selection Requirements:Completion of 60 semester or 90 quarter units from an accredited* college including coursework in the behavioral or social sciences such as: psychology, sociology, or criminology.
The following requirements relating to Peace Officer status must be met at the time of filing:
•**NO FELONY CONVICTIONS
•U.S. Citizenship
•21 years of age, at the time of filing
Appointees will be required to meet State-mandated CORE training requirements as defined by standards for training in Corrections.
Physical Class:4 – Arduous:
Involves frequent heavy lifting over 25 pounds, often combined with bending, twisting, or working on irregular surfaces; and occasionally requires extraordinary physical activity.
Licenses:A valid California Class “C” Driver License is required.
Special Requirement Information: All applicants for this position will be required to obtain a copy of his/her driving record from the California State Department of Motor Vehicles before being appointed. A copy of the driving record must be presented at the time of your appointment. License must not be suspended, restricted, or revoked.
AN APPLICANT WHO’S DRIVING RECORD SHOWS VEHICLE CODE VIOLATIONS WHICH TOTAL MORE THAN FOUR IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS WILL NOT BE APPOINTED.
Applicants must attach proof (original or photocopy) of official college transcripts with Registrar’s signature and/or school seal to the application at the time of filing.
*Accredited institutions are those listed in the publications of regional, national, or international accreditation agencies, which are accepted by the Department of Human Resources. Publications such asAmerican Universities and Colleges and International Handbook of Universities are acceptable references. Also acceptable, if appropriate are degrees that have been evaluated and deemed to be equivalent to degrees from United States accredited instructions by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized byThe National Association of Credential Evaluation Services and Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc.
Special Information:Appointees will be required to work any shift including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.
**AN EXTENSIVE CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK WILL BE CONDUCTED TO ENSURE NO FELONY CONVICTIONS. A thorough background investigation, including live scan and drug screening will be conducted prior to appointment.
You need not list an arrest and/or conviction when the record of such an incident has been sealed in accordance with Penal Code Section 1203.45, 851.7 or 851.8; nor do you need to list an arrest and/or conviction if your record has been expunged or is eligible for expungement pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 11361.5. However, you must list the arrest and/or conviction if you have received a release (per Section 1203.4 or 1203.4a of the Penal Code or Welfare and Institutions Code Section 1179 or 1172), or a pardon per Section 4852.16 of the Penal Code.