In the Interest of Jarquan B.
2016 IL App (1st) 161180
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2016Background
- Jarquan B. (a juvenile) pled guilty in Feb 2015 to criminal trespass to a motor vehicle (Class A misdemeanor) and received 12 months supervision with 30 days stayed detention.
- He repeatedly violated supervision/probation (leaving placement, electronic home monitoring violations) and admitted to violations in late 2015–early 2016. The court warned him multiple times that DJJ commitment was possible on violation.
- Effective Jan 1, 2016 the Juvenile Court Act was amended (705 ILCS 405/5-710(1)(b)) to bar commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for misdemeanor offenses. Jarquan was committed to DJJ on April 26, 2016 after further probation violations.
- Jarquan appealed, arguing the Jan 1, 2016 amendment precluded DJJ commitment for his misdemeanor-based probation violation; he also argued for credit for time on electronic monitoring/home confinement.
- The appellate majority held the juvenile court could commit him to DJJ because section 5-720(4) permits the court on revocation to impose any sentence that was available under section 5-710 at the time of the initial sentence (Feb 2015). The court corrected the mittimus to add 41 days’ credit for electronic monitoring.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether juvenile court lacked authority (on Apr 26, 2016) to commit juvenile to DJJ for misdemeanor-based probation violation after Jan 1, 2016 amendment | State/majority: Section 5-720(4) allows imposing any sentence that was available under §5-710 at the time of the initial sentence (Feb 2015), so DJJ commitment remained available | Jarquan/dissent: Amended §5-710(1)(b) (effective Jan 1, 2016) bars DJJ commitment for misdemeanors after that date; legislature intended to stop misdemeanor commitments regardless of when offense occurred | Majority: Affirmed commitment — §5-720(4) (more specific) requires using the version of §5-710 in effect at initial sentencing; amendment did not bar this sentence; dissent would reverse/remand for resentencing |
| Whether the Jan 1, 2016 amendment to §5-710(1)(b) is ambiguous as to temporal reach | Jarquan/dissent: Amendment ambiguous; legislative history shows intent to prevent post‑amendment misdemeanor commitments | State/majority: Amendment language is clear; temporal question resolved by reading §5-720(4) and Statute on Statutes | Majority: Not ambiguous; applied §5-720(4); dissent: ambiguous and would apply the amended §5-710 to sentences after its effective date |
| Whether §5-720(4) conflicts with the Statute on Statutes (5 ILCS 70/4) regarding applying mitigated punishment | Jarquan/dissent: Statute on Statutes permits application of mitigated punishment effective before sentencing; should allow election of amended §5-710 | State/majority: §5-720(4) is more specific and newer; it controls as exception to §4 of the Statute on Statutes | Majority: §5-720(4) governs probation revocations and displaces the general temporal rule; thus prior §5-710 applies |
| Whether juvenile should receive credit for time on electronic monitoring/home confinement | Jarquan: Entitled to credit for 41 days on EHM/home confinement | State: Agreed to correction | Court: Modified mittimus to add 41 days’ presentence credit |
Key Cases Cited
- Landgraf v. USI Film Prods., 511 U.S. 244 (1994) (framework for determining temporal reach and retroactivity of statutes)
- Caveney v. Bower, 207 Ill. 2d 82 (2003) (Statute on Statutes guides temporal application of statutory amendments)
- In re Dexter L., 334 Ill. App. 3d 557 (2002) (public‑interest exception to mootness in juvenile detention appeals)
- People v. Davis, 97 Ill. 2d 1 (1983) (law in effect at time of offense governs absent express retroactivity)
- People v. Gancarz, 228 Ill. 2d 312 (2008) (characterizing amendments as substantive, procedural, or mitigating for temporal application)
- Ferguson v. McKenzie, 202 Ill. 2d 304 (2002) (statutory interpretation principle to harmonize statutes when possible)