People v. Carlos H.
5 Cal. App. 5th 861
| Cal. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- Juvenile petition (Welf. & Inst. Code § 602) alleged Carlos H., age 15, committed two misdemeanor sexual battery acts against a female classmate; he admitted touching her and said he had “messed up.”
- Before adjudication, the juvenile court issued a restraining order on form JV-255 requiring Carlos to "not contact, threaten, stalk or disturb the peace" of the victim and added two custom "other orders": stay 100 yards away and no contact through a third party.
- Defense counsel objected that JV-255’s section 4 (for children in delinquency proceedings) does not expressly authorize “indirect” contact prohibitions or a specific stay-away distance—options found in section 5 (for non-children) but not applicable to minors.
- The juvenile court found the section 9 “other orders” well tailored and appropriate; Carlos appealed only the inclusion of those additional restrictions after the adjudication rendered other challenges moot.
- The Court of Appeal reviewed statutory interpretation de novo and the restraining-order issuance for abuse of discretion, and affirmed the juvenile court’s use of section 9 to add the stay-away and third-party contact prohibitions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (People) | Defendant's Argument (Carlos) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether JV-255 section 9 may be used to add a stay-away distance (100 yards) for a juvenile respondent | Section 9 permits "other orders" tailored to the case; juvenile court may craft specific protections under § 213.5 and rule 5.630 | Section 4 and § 213.5(b) for juveniles do not expressly authorize specifying a distance; only section 5 (inapplicable) does, so distance cannot be imposed on a minor | Court held section 9 can add tailored stay-away terms; stay-away was permissible and not an abuse of discretion |
| Whether JV-255 section 9 may be used to bar contact through third parties by a juvenile respondent | Section 9 complements section 4 and § 213.5(b) to allow reasonable, case-specific restraints including indirect-contact prohibitions | Because section 4 lacks the word "indirect" or express language from section 5, the juvenile may not be prohibited from third-party contact | Court held prohibition on third-party contact was permissible under section 9 and consistent with § 213.5 and juvenile-court powers |
| Whether the form or statutory structure (expressio unius) precludes imposing protections on persons threatened by a minor that are available when an adult is restrained | The form and statutes allow the juvenile court broad authority to issue reasonable, tailored orders to protect victims and public safety | The omission of specific terms in the juvenile section means those terms cannot be implied; expressio unius est exclusio alterius bars such additions | Court rejected strict expressio unius reading as inapplicable here; held juvenile protections need not be strictly narrower and section 9 avoids injustice |
| Whether including the two "other orders" was an abuse of discretion given rehabilitation and juvenile-law purposes | Orders were reasonable, tailored, and consistent with rehabilitative and public-safety goals of juvenile delinquency law | Orders exceed what form section 4 authorized and thus were arbitrary | Court held orders were neither arbitrary nor capricious and affirmed the restraining order |
Key Cases Cited
- In re C.Q., 219 Cal.App.4th 355 (2013) (standards for review of juvenile restraining orders)
- In re Cassandra B., 125 Cal.App.4th 199 (2004) (statutory interpretation of § 213.5 reviewed de novo)
- Dyna–Med, Inc. v. Fair Employment & Housing Com., 43 Cal.3d 1379 (1987) (expressio unius is a guide used only when statute is ambiguous)
- Gikas v. Zolin, 6 Cal.4th 841 (1993) (discusses expressio unius and statutory construction)
- Estate of Banerjee, 21 Cal.3d 527 (1978) (limits on expressio unius; exceptions where exclusion would cause injustice)
- In re Michael G., 44 Cal.3d 283 (1988) (expressio unius inapplicable where it would contradict legislative intent)