I. BACKGROUND
We begin by summarizing two decades of change in the law relating to the prosecution of minors.
Historically, the laws of this state required a juvenile court to declare a minor unfit for the juvenile system before a district attorney could prosecute that minor in criminal court. ( People v. Superior Court (Lara ) (2018)
The changes implemented by Proposition 21 were rolled back in November 2016 with the passage of Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016. Proposition 57 implemented a series of criminal justice reforms designed to "focus[ ] resources on keeping dangerous criminals behind bars, while rehabilitating juvenile and adult inmates and saving tens of millions of
In September 2018, the Governor approved Senate Bill No. 1391 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (SB 1391) (Stats. 2018, ch. 1012, § 1), which went into effect January 1, 2019. SB 1391 eliminates the district attorneys' ability to seek transfer of 14- and 15-year-olds from juvenile court to criminal court, save for a narrow exception if the minor is "not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction." ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 707, subd. (a)(2).) The Legislature declared that SB 1391 amended Proposition 57 and "is consistent with and furthers the intent of Proposition 57." (SB 1391, § 3.)
Having described the legal landscape for the prosecution of minors, we turn to the background of this case. In March 2011, when Proposition 21 controlled, the Solano County District Attorney charged defendant Alexander C. in criminal court with 15 felonies, including two counts of attempted murder, two counts of torture, and various sex offenses. Alexander was 14 at the time of the crimes. A jury convicted on all charges, and found true several enhancements. The trial court sentenced Alexander to an aggregate term of 61 years to life in prison, plus a consecutive life term.
Alexander appealed. His appeal was pending in November 2016 when voters approved Proposition 57. A short time later, we issued an opinion affirming his convictions on seven counts, but reversing the remaining eight after concluding Alexander received ineffective assistance of counsel. We also concluded that Alexander was entitled to a Proposition 57 transfer
The People filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court, which was initially granted. Then in February 2018, the Supreme Court dismissed review
While Alexander awaited his Proposition 57 transfer hearing, the Governor signed SB 1391. Alexander promptly moved to dismiss the district attorney's motion to transfer, arguing that because he was 14 at the time of the crimes, SB 1391 would preclude his case from proceeding in criminal court. The District Attorney opposed Alexander's motion, arguing SB 1391 is an invalid amendment to Proposition 57 because it is not consistent with Proposition 57 and does not further the proposition's intent. Rejecting these arguments and agreeing with Alexander, the juvenile court terminated the transfer proceeding.
The District Attorney then filed the instant petition for writ of mandate, asking us to strike down SB 1391 and to order the juvenile court to reconsider transferring Alexander to criminal court. The District Attorney argues, as it did in the trial court, that SB 1391 violates state constitutional protections for the initiative process because SB 1391 is inconsistent with Proposition 57 and does not further its intent. Alexander disagrees, and the Attorney General has also submitted a brief defending SB 1391, arguing that the statute is a valid amendment to Proposition 57.
II. DISCUSSION
The Legislature may not, without a vote of the people, amend an initiative statute "unless the initiative statute permits amendment or repeal without the electors' approval." ( Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, subd. (c).) Proposition 57 expressly permits amendment by a majority vote of the Legislature, but only "so long as such amendments are consistent with and further the intent" of the proposition. (Ballot Pamp., supra , text of Prop. 57, § 5, p. 145.)
In Amwest Surety Ins. Co. v. Wilson (1995)
A. Express Purpose and Intent of Proposition 57
The parties and the Attorney General agree that the starting point for identifying the intent of the voters in adopting
We begin with the first of two statements of intent expressly related to juvenile offenders-to "[s]top the revolving door of crime by emphasizing rehabilitation, especially for juveniles." Proposition 57 sought to promote juvenile rehabilitation by channeling more minors into the juvenile system, where they are "generally treated quite differently [than inmates in the prison system], with rehabilitation as the goal." ( Lara , supra ,
SB 1391 takes Proposition 57's goal of promoting juvenile rehabilitation one step further by ensuring that almost all who commit crimes at the age of 14 or 15 will be processed through the juvenile system. As the Assembly Committee on Public Safety concluded: "Keeping 14 and 15 year olds in the juvenile justice system will help to ensure that youth receive treatment, counseling, and education they need to develop into healthy, law abiding adults." (Assem. Com. on Public Safety, Rep. on SB 1391 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) as amended May 25, 2018, p. 4.) It is apparent that SB 1391 is consistent with and furthers Proposition 57's goal of emphasizing rehabilitation for juvenile offenders.
Proposition 57's remaining expressions of intent, while not directed solely toward the prosecution of minors, may all be seen as furthered by SB 1391. The first of these is Proposition 57's goal to "[p]rotect and enhance public safety." (Ballot Pamp., supra , text of Prop. 57, § 2, p. 141.) The proponents of Proposition 57 indicated that increasing the number of minors in the juvenile system protects and enhances public safety, since "minors who remain under juvenile court supervision are less likely to commit new crimes." (Ballot Pamp., supra , argument in favor of Prop.
The District Attorney expresses concern that offenders such as Alexander will not have sufficient time to rehabilitate in the juvenile system before the expiration of the juvenile court's jurisdiction. For offenders who would have faced an aggregate sentence of seven years or more had they been tried in criminal court, juvenile court jurisdiction normally ends "upon the expiration of a two-year period of control, or when the person attains 25 years of age, whichever occurs later." ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 1769, subd. (d)(2).) The District Attorney's concerns, while understandable, are mitigated by her ability to petition a court to extend the duration of juvenile court jurisdiction if discharging a juvenile offender "would be physically dangerous to the public because of the person's mental or physical deficiency, disorder, or abnormality that causes the person to have serious difficulty controlling his or her dangerous behavior." ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 1800, subd. (a).) Indeed, in signing SB 1391, the Governor "considered the fact that young people adjudicated in juvenile court can be held beyond their original
SB 1391 is also aligned with Proposition 57's remaining two express purposes: to "[s]ave money by reducing wasteful spending on prisons" and "[p]revent federal courts from indiscriminately releasing prisoners." (Ballot Pamp., supra , text of Prop. 57, § 2, p. 141.) Proposition 57 was passed with the goal of "reduc[ing] state prison and parole costs as ... youths would no longer spend any time in prison or be supervised by state parole agents following their release." (Ballot Pamp., supra , analysis by the legislative analyst, p. 57.) It was also designed to facilitate the state's compliance with a federal court order to "reduce the prisoner population to 137.5% of the adult institutions' total design capacity," so that federal courts would not order prisoners released to address overcrowding. (See Coleman v. Schwarzenegger (E.D. Cal. and N.D. Cal. 2009)
In sum, SB 1391 is consistent with and furthers the expressed purposes of Proposition 57.
B. Implied Purpose and Intent of Proposition 57
The District Attorney argues that the purpose and intent of Proposition 57 are not limited to the goals expressly enumerated in the initiative, but "can also be found in the actual changes that it brought." The District Attorney correctly points out that Proposition 57 "continue[d] the practice of permitting prosecution of 14-15 year-olds" in criminal court for serious or violent offenses, and she argues from this fact that it is the purpose and intent of Proposition 57 to continue allowing such prosecutions. While it may be appropriate to look beyond an initiative's express statement to discern purpose and intent ( Amwest , supra , 11 Cal.4th at pp. 1256-1257,
First, the practice of allowing certain 14- and 15-year-olds to be prosecuted in criminal court is not an "actual change[ ]" wrought by Proposition 57, but a continuation of prior practice. More than 20 years before Proposition 57, the Legislature lowered the age at which a minor could be prosecuted in criminal court in California, from 16 to 14 years old. (Assem. Bill No. 560 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended Aug. 26, 1994.) There the minimum age remained, for minors
Second, the District Attorney's argument presumes, incorrectly, that amendments to the provisions of Proposition 57 necessarily change the intent of Proposition 57. Any amendment changes an initiative's " ' "scope or effect ..., whether by addition, omission, or substitution of provisions." ' " ( Brown , supra ,
Amwest illustrates how courts should construe initiative language allowing amendments that further an initiative's purpose. Courts may properly look to the initiative " 'as a whole' " to discern that purpose Amwest teaches. ( Amwest , supra ,
The purpose and intent of Proposition 57 can and should be articulated at a similarly high level. In fact, the Supreme Court has already described Proposition 57's purpose and intent at an appropriate high level: the initiative "addresses the process for transferring minors to adult court for criminal prosecution, and expands parole suitability review for state prisoners." ( Brown , supra ,
Third, we disagree with the District Attorney that the drafting history of Proposition 57 undermines our analysis. The District Attorney argues that the changes the proponents made to Proposition 57 in response to public comments before the election show that "the proponents of Proposition 57 intentionally omitted language that would have the same effect as SB-1391." This is true. The District Attorney is also correct that the fact the proponents made this change "is most persuasive to the conclusion that the [initiative] should not be construed to include the omitted provision." ( People v. Soto (2011)
C. Proposition 21
Finally, we reject the District Attorney's additional argument that SB 1391 should be struck down because it conflicts with Proposition 21, the 2000 initiative that permitted direct-filing in criminal court. The provisions of Proposition 21 relating to the prosecution of 14- and 15-year-olds were repealed by Proposition 57, which eliminated Proposition 21's direct-filing procedure. (See J.N. v. Superior Court (2018)
III. DISPOSITION
The petition for writ of mandate is denied. The stay issued by this court on January 16, 2019 shall expire as soon as this decision is final.
WE CONCUR:
POLLAK, P. J.
STREETER, J.
Notes
Because we conclude SB 1391 is consistent with and furthers the intent of Proposition 57, we need not address Alexander's alternative argument that SB 1391 did not amend Proposition 57 but this older statute, Assembly Bill No. 560 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess., Stats. 1994, ch. 453, § 9.5.)