IN THE MATTER OF S.L.M., a Youth; IN THE MATTER OF S.T., a Youth; IN THE MATTER OF J.L.C., a Youth; IN THE MATTER OF J.A.T., a Youth; IN THE MATTER OF L.D., a Youth
No. 96-576, No. 96-337, No. 96-220, No. 96-546, No. 96-547
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
December 30, 1997
Justice W. William Leaphart
1997; Argued: November 6, 1997; Submitted: November 14, 1997
Appeal From: District Court of the Twelfth Judicial District, In and for the County of Hill, The Honorable John Warner, Judge presiding.
Appeals From: District Court of the Thirteenth Judicial District, In and for the County of Yellowstone, The Honorable Diane G. Barz, Judge presiding.
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellants:
Daniel P. Buckley (argued); Berg, Lilly, Andriolo & Tollefsen, Bozeman, Montana (96-576)
D.E. Pomery (argued), Attorney at Law, Bozeman, Montana (96-337)
John Keith, Attorney at Law, Great Falls, Montana (96-220)
Roberta A. Drew, Yellowstone County Defender‘s Office, Billings, Montana (96-546 and -547)
For Respondent:
Hon. Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General; Cregg W. Coughlin (argued), Helena, Montana
Filed:
The appellants in these five appeals challenge the Extended Jurisdiction Prosecution Act,
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND OF EACH APPEAL
I. In the Matter of S.L.M., Cause No. 96-576, Gallatin County:
The Youth S.L.M. was charged with perjury and the criminal sale of dangerous drugs, both punishable as felonies if committed by an adult. The State alleged that S.M. sold $150 worth of marijuana to an undercover agent. At the time of the offense, S.M. was under the age of 18 years. The State requested extended jurisdiction under the EJPA. The District Court held a hearing and granted extended jurisdiction over the charge of criminal sale of dangerous drugs, but did not extend jurisdiction over the charge of perjury, an offense which
II. In the Matter of J.L.C., Cause No. 96-220, Hill County:
The Youth J.L.C. was charged with negligent homicide as the result of a car accident in which J.L.C. was driving a vehicle while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The vehicle rolled, and one of the two passengers died from injuries received. J.L.C. was 17 years of age at the time of the incident. At the request of the county attorney, the District Court granted extended jurisdiction over the charge of negligent homicide. The Youth pled guilty to negligent homicide, and the court, by way of a juvenile disposition, placed the Youth on formal probation until he reaches the age of 21. In addition, under the EJPA, the court imposed an adult sentence committing the Youth to the Department of Corrections for a period of 5 years, suspended. The Youth filed a notice of appeal to this Court.
S.T. was charged in Youth Court with eight offenses, including two burglaries. He admitted to having committed each of the offenses. The State filed a motion to have the case designated an extended jurisdiction prosecution. S.T. challenged the EJPA as unconstitutional under the double jeopardy clause, the due process clause and
Based upon a report of probation violations, the State subsequently filed a request with the court to impose the adult portion of the sentence. S.T. was arrested pursuant to a bench warrant. After initially denying the violations, S.T. admitted the violations of probation. The court then imposed the sentence of 10 years with the Department of Corrections, suspended 5 years, and imposed conditions for the suspended portion of the sentence. S.T. was credited with 91 days of incarceration served under the juvenile disposition.
IV. In the Matter of J.A.T., Cause No. 96-546, Yellowstone County and In the Matter of L.D., Cause No. 96-547, Yellowstone County:
J.A.T. was charged in Youth Court with assault with a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor theft. The State requested extended jurisdiction for the charge of assault.
Subsequently, the State filed a petition charging the Youth with possessing drug paraphernalia and, on that basis, sought to revoke the prior suspension of commitment. J.A.T admitted the allegations, and the court placed him on probation for one year.
In a separate matter, in November of 1995, the State charged L.D. with being a delinquent youth for committing deliberate homicide. The State later amended its petition to charge negligent homicide as an alternate charge. L.D. admitted to the charge of negligent homicide, but challenged the constitutionality of the EJPA. The court declared L.D. a delinquent youth and committed him to the Department of Corrections until age 19. The court took the issue of whether to designate the case as one for extended jurisdiction under advisement.
On July 19, 1996, the court issued a consolidated order in both L.D. and J.A.T. declaring the EJPA unconstitutional on double jeopardy, due process and equal protection grounds. The State appeals from that decision.
- Does the EJPA violate the equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution and/or the Montana Constitution?
- Does the EJPA violate the provisions of
Article II, Section 15 of the Montana Constitution ? - Does the EJPA violate the double jeopardy clauses of the United States Constitution and/or the Montana Constitution?
- Does the EJPA violate the due process clauses of the United States Constitution and/or the Montana Constitution?
DISCUSSION
I. Overview of the Extended Jurisdiction Prosecution Act
In 1995, the legislature substantially revised the Montana Youth Court Act, including amending the Declaration of Purpose to effectuate the following purpose:
to prevent and reduce youth delinquency through immediate, consistent, enforceable, and avoidable consequences of youths’ actions and to establish a program of supervision, care, rehabilitation, detention, competency development, community protection, and, in appropriate cases, restitution as ordered by the youth court[.]
Section
As part of the broad 1995 revision of the Youth Court Act, the EJPA was enacted. The EJPA is now codified at
A youth court case may be designated an “extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution” when the offender is at least 14 years of age, the county attorney requests that the case be designated an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution, a hearing is held, and the youth court designates the case as such. Section
A case may also fall under the EJPA if the youth is alleged to have committed one or more of the offenses listed under
After the case is designated an extended jurisdiction prosecution, the case proceeds to an adjudicatory hearing as provided in
If the court is subsequently informed that any condition of the disposition has been violated, or if it is alleged that the youth has committed a new offense, the court may, without notice, order the youth be taken into custody. Section
If the youth challenges the reasons for the revocation, the court must hold a hearing at which the youth is entitled to notice, an opportunity to be heard, right to counsel, and the
Upon revocation and disposition, the youth court shall transfer the case to the district court. Section
II. Standing
The State contends that certain of the youths lack standing to challenge the constitutionality of the EJPA. The youths contend that the EJPA violates equal protection by subjecting them to a longer period of incarceration than that permitted for an adult offender. The State points out, however, that the adult portion of the sentence is only triggered if the youth violates the terms of his juvenile disposition and the stay of the adult sentence is revoked. Those youths who have not had the stay revoked have not been
We conclude that the youths, each of whom have been sentenced under the EJPA, have standing to challenge its provisions. We recently addressed the question of standing in Gryczan v. State (Mont. 1997), 942 P.2d 112, 54 St.Rep. 699. We reiterated the criteria for determining standing: 1) the complaining party must clearly allege past, present or threatened injury to a property or civil right; and 2) the alleged injury must be distinguishable from the injury to the public generally, but need not be exclusive to the complaining party. Gryczan, 942 P.2d at 117. Gryczan involved a constitutional challenge by six homosexuals (the respondents) to the statutory prohibition on deviate sexual conduct. See
This Court, despite the fact that the respondents had not been arrested or prosecuted, held that they were precisely the individuals the statute was designed to impact. Gryczan, 942 P.2d at 119. Furthermore, we noted that nothing prevented a county attorney from exercising his or her discretion and choosing to prosecute. Since the legislature had not disavowed the statute, we concluded that the respondents “suffer a legitimate and realistic fear of criminal prosecution along with other psychological harms. Respondents are precisely the individuals against whom the statute is intended to operate. This is sufficient
The threat of injury to the youths herein is even more apparent than that to the respondents in Gryczan. There is no question but that the youths are among the individuals against whom the EJPA is directed. Further, the youths have not only been prosecuted, but have also been sentenced under the EJPA. Although the adult sentences of some of the youths may be presently stayed on the condition that they comply with their juvenile dispositions, they suffer a “legitimate and realistic” fear that the adult sentence will be imposed should they violate the disposition. We conclude that the youths, regardless of whether their stays have been lifted, have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the EJPA on equal protection grounds.
III. Does the EJPA violate the equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution and/or the Montana Constitution and the rights of minors under
Resolution of this issue involves a question of constitutional law. Accordingly, we review to determine whether the court‘s interpretation of the law is correct. State v. Schnittgen (1996), 277 Mont. 291, 295, 922 P.2d 500, 503.
Equal protection challenges to legislation are reviewed under one of three different levels of scrutiny. When the legislation in question infringes upon a fundamental right or discriminates against a suspect class, we employ the most stringent standard, strict scrutiny.
If the right in question has its origin in the Montana Constitution, but is not found in the Declaration of Rights, we employ a middle-tier scrutiny. Butte Community Union v. Lewis (1986), 219 Mont. 426, 434, 712 P.2d 1309, 1313. Middle-tier scrutiny requires the State to demonstrate that its classification is reasonable and that its interest in the classification is greater than that of the individual‘s interest in the right infringed. Lewis, 712 P.2d at 1314.
If the right in question is not fundamental and does not warrant middle-tier scrutiny, we review under a rational basis test. This test requires the government to show that the objective of the statute is legitimate and bears a rational relationship to the classification used by the legislature. Cottrill v. Cottrill Sodding Service (1987), 229 Mont. 40, 744 P.2d 895.
In addressing an equal protection challenge, we first identify the classes involved and determine whether they are similarly situated. The two classes involved in the present appeals are: 1) juveniles who are sentenced as adults under the EJPA; and 2) adults who are sentenced for committing the same offense as the juveniles. Since both classes are composed of persons who have committed the same act and who are sentenced “as adults,” the classes are similarly situated for equal protection purposes.
We then define the nature of the individual interest affected; is it a fundamental right triggering a strict scrutiny analysis? The youths argue that imposition of an adult sentence in addition to a juvenile disposition is an infringement upon their physical liberty and that physical liberty is a fundamental right. This question was answered in Matter of C.H. (1984), 210 Mont. 184, 683 P.2d 931. C.H. contended that placing a truant status offender in an institution for a 45-day predispositional evaluation was an infringement upon the fundamental right of physical liberty, a right which must be protected absent a compelling state interest. Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 938. She also contended that
While physical liberty is not specifically guaranteed under either the United States Constitution or the Montana Constitution, we noted in Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 940, that the concept of “liberty” is very much a part of our state constitution. The preamble to the Montana Constitution states in part: “We the people of Montana... desiring to secure the blessings of liberty... do ordain and establish this constitution.” Further,
In Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 940, we concluded: “Reading the preamble and these sections of our constitution together, we hold that under the Montana Constitution physical liberty is a fundamental right, without which other constitutionally guaranteed rights would have little meaning.” We then analyzed the interplay between the guarantee of equal protection and
In the present appeals, the EJPA‘s imposition of an adult sentence in addition to a juvenile disposition infringes on the juvenile‘s physical liberty, which is a fundamental right. As in Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 941, we must therefore apply a strict scrutiny analysis and determine whether there is a compelling state interest sufficient to justify such an infringement and whether such an infringement is consistent with the mandates of
Rights of persons not adults. The rights of persons under 18 years of age shall include, but not be limited to, all the fundamental rights of this Article unless specifically precluded by laws which enhance the protections of such persons.
The committee took this action in recognition of the fact that young people have not been held to possess basic civil rights. Although it has been held that they are “persons” under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court has not ruled in their favor under the equal protection clause of that same amendment. What this means is that persons under the age of majority have been accorded certain specific rights which are felt to be a part of due process. However, the broad outline of the kinds of rights young people possess does not yet exist. This is the crux of the committee proposal: to recognize that persons under the age of majority have the same protections from governmental and majoritarian abuses as do adults. In such cases where the protection of the special status of minors demands it, exceptions can be made on clear showing that such protection is being enhanced.
Montana Constitutional Convention, Vol. II at 635-36.
Clearly under
In Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 941, we held that the state had a compelling interest in removing the element of retribution and instead rehabilitating youths before they became
[T]o prevent and reduce youth delinquency through an immediate, consistent, enforceable, and avoidable consequences of youths’ actions and to establish a program of supervision, care, rehabilitation, detention, competency development, community protection, and, in appropriate cases, restitution as ordered by the youth court[.]
Section
As compared to the pre-1995 Declaration of Purpose, the Act now espouses much more preventative, if not punitive, goals; that is, the Act now seeks to prevent delinquency through imposition of enforceable and immediate consequences and to establish programs of detention and community protection. The State asserts that the EJPA was designed by the legislature to address the rising tide of juvenile criminal conduct in Montana and dispel the notion held by some juveniles that their criminal conduct holds no consequences for them. The EJPA, as noted by the State, gives the courts “a bigger stick to help keep kids in line--to let them know their crimes are serious and this is their last chance to cooperate.” Obviously, it is no longer accurate to reason, as we did in Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 941, that Youth
All juveniles subject to the EJPA are at risk of serving an adult sentence in addition to their juvenile disposition. Thus, the EJPA, on its face, violates the equal protection clause of
As an example, one of the appeals before us, Matter of J.L.C., Cause No. 96-220, Hill County, involves a 17-year-old youth who pled guilty to one count of negligent homicide, a violation of
In addition to Matter of C.H., 683 P.2d at 931, discussed above, we have twice addressed equal protection challenges to the different treatment of offenders based upon age. As the following analysis indicates, we find both of these decisions distinguishable.
A. Our Decision in Matter of Wood:
In Matter of Wood (1989), 236 Mont. 118, 768 P.2d 1370, we addressed an equal protection challenge by a 16-year-old youth to the process whereby jurisdiction over his homicide case was mandatorily transferred from youth court to district court. The Youth Court Act,
Matter of Wood, 768 P.2d at 1370, is distinguishable from the case sub judice. Matter of Wood involves the right to procedural due process, which we held is not a fundamental right. In this case, the appellants are challenging the actual loss of physical liberty, in addition to challenging the process by which sentence is imposed. As we stated earlier, physical liberty is a fundamental right requiring strict scrutiny. Also, Matter of Wood, 768 P.2d at 1374-76, involved the transfer statute,
We addressed an equal protection challenge to the disparate application of sentencing laws to minors as compared to adults in Matter of C.S. (1984), 210 Mont. 144, 687 P.2d 57. At the age of 15, C.S. was adjudged a delinquent youth for having committed the offense of violation of privacy in communication, a misdemeanor as provided in
The three reasons propounded were: 1) a juvenile commitment is different from a criminal conviction because, given the stated policy of the Youth Court Act in 1984, a juvenile commitment is strictly for rehabilitation, not retribution; 2) in contrast to an adult, the liberty interests of a minor are subject to reasonable regulation by the State under the doctrine of parens patriae; and 3) other jurisdictions have employed the parens patriae doctrine under similar youth court acts. Matter of C.S., 687 P.2d at 59.
Furthermore, where the offender is sanctioned with an “adult” sentence, as under the EJPA, we cannot rely on the doctrine of parens patriae to distinguish between the treatment of juveniles and adults. Parens patriae traditionally refers to the role of the State as sovereign or guardian of persons who are under a legal disability, such as juveniles--“the principle that the state must care for those who cannot take care of themselves, such as minors who lack proper care and custody from their parents.” BLACK‘S LAW DICTIONARY 1114 (6th ed. 1990). Where, as under the EJPA, the offender is no longer sentenced solely as a juvenile, but as an adult as well, the doctrine‘s paternalistic rationale no longer applies.
Finally, the doctrine of parens patriae must be applied consistently with
CONCLUSION
Under the framework of the EJPA, a juvenile receives a juvenile disposition plus an adult sentence. If the juvenile violates the terms of the juvenile disposition, it is possible for the youth to serve a longer term of detention or imprisonment than an adult who has committed the same offense. The State has not shown a compelling interest to be advanced by this unequal treatment of similarly situated persons, nor has it shown that the EJPA provides juveniles with increased, rather than decreased, protection under the law. Therefore, we hold that the EJPA violates
Although the Youth Court Act, including the EJPA, is subject to a severability clause, our holding that the EJPA violates
Although our equal protection analysis differs considerably from that of the Thirteenth Judicial District Court in Matter of L.D. and Matter of J.A.T., that court nonetheless reached the right result. We affirm district court decisions which are correct regardless of the court‘s reasoning in reaching the decision. Clark v. Eagle Systems, Inc. (1996), 279 Mont. 279, 927 P.2d 995. Accordingly, we affirm the District Court‘s decision that the EJPA is unconstitutional. The Hill County Matter of J.L.C., the Gallatin County Matter of S.L.M. and the Gallatin County Matter of S.T. are remanded to those District Courts for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
W. William Leaphart
Justice
We concur:
J. A. Turnage
Chief Justice
William E. Hunt, Sr.
James C. Nelson
Karla M. Gray
Jim Regnier
Justices
I concur with the majority‘s conclusion that the Extended Jurisdiction Prosecution Act, found at
Section
If a youth in an extended jurisdiction prosecution pleads guilty to or is found guilty of an offense described in 41-5-1102(1)(b), the court shall:
(a) Impose one or more juvenile dispositions under 41-5-523; and
(b) Impose an adult criminal sentence, the execution of which must be stayed on the condition that the youth not violate the provisions of the disposition order and not commit a new offense. If the youth violates the conditions of the stay or commits a new offense, the adult criminal sentence must be executed as provided in 41-5-1105.
(Emphasis added.)
Section
The State contends that pursuant to our decision in State v. Zabawa (1996), 279 Mont. 307, 928 P.2d 151, and the United States Supreme Court‘s decision in Missouri v. Hunter (1983), 459 U.S. 359, 103 S. Ct. 673, 74 L. Ed. 2d 535, cumulative punishments for a single
As this Court noted in State v. Johnson (1986), 221 Mont. 503, 513, 719 P.2d 1248, 1254, “states may interpret their own constitutions to afford greater protections than the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized in its interpretations of the federal counterparts to state constitutions.” Furthermore, as stated by Justice Leaphart in his dissent to this Court‘s Zabawa decision:
I would decline to adopt the United States Supreme Court‘s interpretation of the “multiple punishment” element of the Double Jeopardy Clause in Missouri v. Hunter (1983), 459 U.S. 359, 103 S.Ct. 673, 74 L.Ed.2d 535. Instead, I interpret the double jeopardy clause of
Article II, Section 25 of the Montana Constitution , as providing substantive protection against multiple punishments irrespective of any legislative enactments.. . . .
. . . [W]e do a grave disservice to the framers of the Montana Constitution when we hold that a constitutional provision means nothing more than what the legislative branch intends it to mean. Constitutional guarantees are not mere vessels to be left empty or filled at the whim of the legislative branch. Rather, they have intrinsic meaning which is independent of any legislative intent. Contrary to this Court‘s characterization of the issue, the question is not whether
Article II, Section 25 of the Montana Constitution provides “greater protection” from double punishment than does theFifth Amendment , the question is whether it provides any protection independently of what the legislature chooses to provide.
. . . .
. . . The double jeopardy clause in
Article II, Section 25 , limits the power of all branches of government, including the legislature. Whether the legislature intends multiple punishments or not, as a matter of state constitutional law, such cumulative punishment is proscribed under the double jeopardy clause.
Zabawa, 279 Mont. at 323-26, 928 P.2d at 161-63 (Leaphart, J., dissenting).
We have previously recognized that the
For these reasons, I concur with the result of the majority opinion, but express no view regarding the reasoning for the majority opinion.
Terry N. Trieweiler
Justice