Lead Opinion
Recently, in People v. Superior Court (T.D.) (F078697, Aug. 5, 2019)
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On November 20, 2014, Roman Aguayo was stabbed to death. Six days later, in Kings County Superior Court case No. 14CM-4797A, the District Attorney directly charged I.R., in criminal court, with murder committed in association with or for the benefit of a criminal street gang
On November 8, 2016, voters enacted Proposition 57. It went into effect the next day. (See Cal. Const., art. II, § 10, former subd. (a).) The Act eliminated prosecutors' ability to file charges against juveniles directly in criminal court. Certain categories of minors - 16- and 17-year-olds who violated any felony criminal statute, and 14- and 15-year-olds who committed enumerated serious offenses, including murder - could still be tried in criminal court, " 'but only after a juvenile court judge conduct[ed] a transfer hearing to consider various factors such as the minor's maturity, degree оf criminal sophistication, prior delinquent history, and whether the minor [could] be rehabilitated. [Citation.]' [Citation.]" ( People v. Superior Court (Lara) (2018)
On December 12, 2016, the District Attorney filed a juvenile wardship petition (§ 602) in case No. 16JQ-0087. Count 1 alleged a violation of Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a) for the murder of Roman Aguayo, plus a gang-murder special circumstance (id. , § 190.2, subd. (a)(22)) and a gang enhancement (id. , § 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(C)). Count 2 alleged a violation of Penal Code section 186.22, subdivision (a) (active participation in a criminal street gang), committed on the same date as the murder. Count 3 alleged a
At the District Attorney's request, and following a hearing pursuant to section 707, former subdivision (a), I.R. was transferred to criminal court on all counts. Criminal proceedings were reinstated in case No. 14CM-4797A, and a criminal complaint was filed in case No. 17CM0680, charging the assault and gang enhancement that had been alleged as count 3 in case No. 16JQ-0087. On April 26, 2017, I.R. was held to answer in case No. 17CM0680.
On October 4, 2017, the jury deadlocked on the murder charge in case No. 14CM-4797A. On October 12, 2018, at or around the outset of retrial, I.R. moved to be returned to juvenile cоurt, based on the criminal court's lack of jurisdiction due to the passage and signing by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., of Senate Bill No. 1391. The motion was denied on October 16, 2018, because the new law was not yet in effect.
On October 22, 2018, jury trial in criminal court was reset to January 7, 2019, after insufficient prospective jurors were summoned to permit selection of a jury. On January 7, 2019, I.R. asked the court to rehear his motion to dismiss the case due to lack of jurisdiction. The court granted
That same day, the District Attorney filed a juvenile wardship petition (§ 602) in case No. 19JQ-0003, alleging I.R. committed murder with a gang-murder special circumstance and gang enhancement ( Pen. Code, §§ 186.22, subd. (b), 187, subd. (a), 190.2, subd. (a)(22) ; count I), and was an active participant in a criminal street gang (
The District Attorney petitioned this court for a writ of prohibition and/or mandate, making the same arguments he made below. We stayed the juvenile court proceedings and issued an order to show cause.
DISCUSSION
The District Attorney raises a number of challenges to Senate Bill No. 1391. The first is that it is unconstitutional "because it changes Proposition 57's provision that a juvenile judge must determine if a juvenile should be prosecuted in criminal court; [Senate Bill No.] 1391 is inconsistent with and does not further the voter[s'] intent in passing Proposition 57." (Some capitalization & boldface omitted.) As previously stated, we rejected this claim in T.D. , supra , 38 Cal.App.5th at pages ---- - ----,
I
Senate Bill No. 1391 is not an unconstitutional amendment оf Proposition 21.
Proposition 21 was approved by voters at the March 7, 2000 Primary Election. "Proposition 21 revised the juvenile court law to broaden the circumstances in which minors 14 years of age and older [could] be prosecuted in the criminal division of the superior court, rather than in juvenile court." ( Manduley , supra ,
An uncodified section of Proposition 21 provides: "The provisions of this measure shall not bе amended by the Legislature except by a statute passed in
The District Attorney says Senate Bill No. 1391 is unconstitutional because it amended Proposition 21 without the requisite two-thirds vote of each house. To the contrary, 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. ( People v. Superior Court (Alexander C.) (2019)
The District Attorney argues Proposition 57 modified Proposition 21 (which, he agrees, was constitutionally allowable) by eliminating the ability of prosecutors to directly file charges against juveniles in criminal court, and by altering the factors to be considered in transferring a juvenile to adult court. He says, however, that Proposition 57 did not eliminate the juvenile court's power to transfer 14- and 15-year-olds to criminal court. This authority to transfer 14- and 15-year-olds was not enacted as part of Proposition 21, however, but rather became law on January 1, 1995, as the result of Assembly Bill No. 560. ( § 707, former subds. (d), (e), as amended by Stats. 1994, ch. 453, § 9.5.) The question is whether Senate Bill No. 1391 unconstitutionally amends Proposition 57, not Proposition 21. As we held in T.D. , it does not.
II
Senate Bill No. 1391 is not unconstitutionally vague.
The District Attorney next contends Senate Bill No. 1391 is unconstitutionally vague, because it rewrites section 707, subdivision (a) to make it unclear to victims, defendants, the police, and prosecutors when a 14- or 15-year-old can be tried in criminal court. Specifically, he points to section 707, subdivision (a)(2), which now provides, in pertinent part: "In any case in which an individual is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation, when he or she was 14 or 15 years of age, of any
" 'The rule is well established ... that one will not be heard to attack a statute on grounds that are not shown to be applicable to himself and that a court will not consider every conceivable situation which might arise under the language of the statute and will not consider the question of constitutionality with reference to hypothetical situations.' [Citation.]" ( Tobe v. City of Santa Ana (1995)
We also reject his claim on the merits. "Vagueness may invalidate a criminal law for either of two independent reasons. First, it may fail to provide the kind of notice that will enable ordinary people to understand what conduct it prohibits; second, it may authorize and even encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. [Citation.]" ( City of Chicago v. Morales (1999)
We turn first to the "fair notice" prong. "It is a fundamental tenet of due process that '[no] one may be required at peril of life, liberty or property to speculate as to the meaning of penal statutes.' [Citation.] A criminal statute is therefore invalid if it 'fails to give a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice that his contemplated conduct is forbidden.' [Citations.] So too, vague sentencing provisions may pose constitutional questions if they do not state with sufficient clarity the consequences of violating a given criminаl statute. [Citations.]" (
Section 707, subdivision (a)(2), as amended by Senate Bill No. 1391, meets these requirements. A 14- or 15-year-old who commits an offense listed in section 707, subdivision (b), but who is not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction, faces potential prosecution as an adult. That the differences in liability between the juvenile court system and the criminal сourt system require reference to
The District Attorney fares no better with respect to the arbitrary/discriminatory enforcement prong. We categorically reject the suggestion law enforcement officers may intentionally "not ... solve crimes or not ... catch fugitives" so as to increasе a minor's liability. That a minor's punishment may, under certain circumstances, be based on when he or she is apprehended rather than the type of crime he or she committed, does not make the statute vague.
III
Senate Bill No. 1391 applies retroactively.
The District Attorney observes that the text of Senate Bill No. 1391 does not address retroactivity, and there is a presumption that laws apply prospectively only. He recognizes that in Lara , supra ,
The District Attorney's position lacks merit. He provides no reason whatsoever for applying Senate Bill No. 1391 differently than Lara requires us to apply Proposition 57: retroactively "to all juveniles ... whose judgment was not final at the time it was enacted." ( Lara , supra ,
IV
The murder case against I.R. cannot be transferred to criminal court based on the felony I.R. allegedly committed when he was age 17.
The District Attorney contends that even if I.R. should not have been transferred to criminal court based on the homicide alone, he - and the murder charge - were properly transferred based on the separate felony assault he allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. Relying on section 707.01, subdivision (a)(3), which was not changed by Senate Bill No. 1391, the District Attorney reasons the assault case was properly transferred to criminal court
We recognize I.R. was 16 years of age or older at the time he allegedly committed felony assault, rendering transfer of that offense permissible pursuant to section 707, subdivision (a)(1), even after enactment of Senate Bill No. 1391. Additionally, murder is a transferrable offеnse. ( § 707, subd. (b)(1).) I.R. cannot, however, be transferred on the murder charge under either section 707.01 or section 707 because he was under 16 years of age at the time he allegedly committed it.
If a minor is found to be an unfit subject to be dealt with under juvenile court law pursuant to section 707, then we believe section 707.01, subdivision (a)(3)(A) requires transfer of all pending petitions where the minor was 16 or 17 years old at the time of the offense(s) alleged in those petitions. Had the Legislature intended transfer of pending petitions to occur whenever the minor was 16 years of age or older at the time of any alleged offense, presumably that body would have used the indefinite "a" with regard to "criminal statute."
Even aside from the grammatical construction of section 707.01, subdivision (a)(3), prohibiting transfer of I.R.'s murder case comports with legislative intent. That intent, as clearly expressed by Senate Bill No. 1391, is to have 14- and 15-year-olds
The оrder to show cause previously issued is discharged, and the petition for writ of prohibition and/or mandate is denied. The stay issued by this court on March 4, 2019, shall remain in effect only until this opinion becomes final in all courts in this state or the California Supreme Court grants a hearing, whichever shall first occur; thereafter said order is vacated and said stay is dissolved.
I CONCUR:
PEÑA, J.
Notes
Further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise stated.
"The juvenile court and the criminal court are divisions of the superior court, which has subject matter jurisdiction over criminal mаtters and civil matters, including juvenile proceedings. (See Cal. Const., art. VI, § 10.) When exercising the jurisdiction conferred by the juvenile court law, the superior court is designated as the juvenile court. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 245.)" (Manduley v. Superior Court (2002)
Not all of the documents necessary to a complete procedural history have been submitted to this court. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.486(b)(1)(C).) Since the parties are in basic agreement concerning the timeline of the case, however, we derive portions of our recitation from their pleadings.
Further references to case numbers are to the Kings County Superior Court.
It is apparent these are the charges arising out of the Roman Aguayo homicide that took place in 2014. The petition erroneously alleges both counts occurred on or about November 20, 2016.
It is unclear how this request was made. In his petition for writ of prohibition and/or mandate, the District Attorney implies the request was made as part of the wardship petition. Although page 2 of the wardship petition contains a box that can be checked if a transfer hearing is being requested, the box in I.R.'s wardship petition is unchecked.
Counsel for I.R. has not responded to the remaining claims. The District Attorney does not argue we should deem the failure to respond to be a concession, and we would decline to do so in any event.
Because the assault case was transferred to criminal court post-Proposition 57, we assume the juvenile court applied the standards set out in section 707, as amended by the Act.
For example, in subdivision (a)(5) of section 707.01, the Legislature provided that if, after a finding of unfitness, the minor is convicted of the offenses that were the subject of the proceeding that resulted in the finding of unfitness, any new petition(s) alleging the violation of any law defining a crime need not be filed in juvenile court if the minor was 16 years of age or older at the time he or she allegedly violated "a criminal statute" or he or she allegedly violated "a criminal statute" for which he or she may be presumed or found to be unfit to bе dealt with under the juvenile court law. (§ 707.01, subd. (a)(5)(A) & (B), italics added.)
Dissenting Opinion
One purpose of the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act (Proposition 57) is to require that judges determine whether juveniles should be transferred to criminal court. In contrast, Senate Bill No. 1391 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2018, ch. 1012, § 1) (Senate Bill 1391) effectively prohibits judges from determining whether certain juveniles should be transferred to criminal court. Whatever the wisdom of each enactment, it cannot be said that Senate Bill 1391 "further[s] the intent" (Prop. 57, § 5) of Proposition 57. As a result, Senate Bill 1391 is unconstitutional. (See Cal. Const., art II, § 10 (c).) I respectfully dissent from the majority's contrary holding, which is largely bаsed on this court's decision People v. Superior Court (T.D. ) (F078697, Aug. 5, 2019)
I.R. argues Senate Bill 1391 is consistent with the purposes of Proposition 57. The text of each enactment indicates otherwise.
A. Enumerated Purposes of Proposition 57
In section 2, Proposition 57 provides:
"In enacting this act, it is the purpose and intent of the people of the State of California to:
"1. Protect and enhance public safety.
"2. Save money by reducing wasteful spending on prisons.
"3. Prevent federal courts from indiscriminately releasing prisoners.
"4. Stop the revolving door of crime by emphasizing rehabilitation, especially for juveniles.
"5. Require a judge, not a prosecutor, to decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult court."
The enumerated intent to "require a judge, not a prosecutor, to decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult court," has two clear components. First, the phrasing "Require a judge ... to decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult court" means exactly what it says. The intent of Proposition 57 is to "require" a particular person (i.e., a judge) to make a particular decision (i.e., whether a juvenile should be tried as an adult). Second, the phrase, "not a prosecutor" embodies an intent to deny prosecutors the power to ultimately decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult court.
Senate Bill 1391 clearly conflicts this еnumerated intent. Under Senate Bill 1391, neither a prosecutor nor a judge , may decide whether 14- and 15-year-old juveniles may be tried in adult court. Instead, the Legislature has made the decision for 14- and 15-year-old juveniles.
Other courts of appeal have concluded otherwise by interpreting item 5 to evince only an intent to remove power from the prosecutor, while minimizing the intent to require the power be exercised by a judge. (See, e.g., People v. Superior Court (K.L. ) (2019)
Because the fifth enumerated intent of Proposition 57 is so clearly in conflict with Senate Bill 1391, we need not delve into the abstract, policy-laden questions of whether Senate Bill 1391 also conflicts with Proposition 57's other goals of enhancing public safety and saving money. (See Prop. 57, § 2.)
B. Reasonably Inferable Purposes of Proposition 57
However, our analysis does not end with the general, express statements of intent in Proposition 57. (See Amwest Surety Ins. Co. v. Wilson (1995)
Proposition 57 may have intended to reduce the number of youths to be prosecuted as adults ... but only up to a point. Proposition 57, like any enactment, was written to "go so far and no further." ( Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Cmty. (2014)
Proposition 57 sought to find the balancing point of several disparate objectives, including enhancing public safety, saving money, and emphasizing rehabilitation. The balance it struck is the result of both considerations of leniency and rehabilitation, as well as various considerations pushing in the other dirеction. We cannot cherry-pick a single goal and conclude any enactment advancing that singular goal of leniency towards juveniles must also further the multi-faceted purposes of Proposition 57, regardless of how contrary that enactment may be to Proposition 57's other purposes.
Surely, one purpose of Proposition 57 is to emphasize rehabilitation for juveniles. (Prop. 57, § 2.) But another purpose is to require that judges determine whether juveniles - including 14 and 15 year olds - should be tried as adults. (Ibid. ) We cannot
In a related contention, some have observed that "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 a prior practice." ( People v. Superior Court (Alexander C. ) (2019)
And there can be no doubt that Proposition 57 did intend to preserve the prior practice of permitting some 14 and 15 year olds to be tried as adults. Proposition 57 made affirmative statutory tweaks to ensure that, notwithstanding the closely related changes it made to juvenile law, 14 and 15 year olds could still be transferred to criminal court and prosecuted as adults. (Prop. 57, § 4.2 [altering statutory language to read "when he or she was 14 or 15 years of age" in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 707 ].) Thus, Proposition 57 was not oblivious to its effect of preserving the prior practice, but rather went out of its way to ensure those juveniles could still be prosecuted as adults in some circumstances. Senate Bill 1391 is in direct conflict with that intent.
Because Senate Bill 1391 clearly does not "further" (Prop. § 57, § 2) the enumerated and inferable intents of Proposition 57, it is unconstitutional under article II, section 10(c) of the California Constitution.
I respectfully dissent.
Unless the juvenile was not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction.