INTRODUCTION
Under separation of powers principles, when the Legislature has enacted a statute with limited exceptions, courts may not add additional exceptions. (See Cal. Const., art. III, § 3.) In 2014, the Legislature enacted a statute that generally requires a juvenile court to seal a minor's confidential delinquency file following a dismissal. The court cannot later unseal and release information in the file to others, except in eight limited circumstances for certain designated parties (e.g., the probation department). ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 786, subds. (a)(1), (f)(1)(A)-(H).)
Here, a juvenile court dismissed a delinquency petition and sealed the minor's records. A criminal defendant later filed a request for disclosure of the minor's sealed records. Defendant is charged with the pimping, pandering, and human trafficking of the minor; she is likely to be a witness at defendant's upcoming trial. The juvenile court reviewed the minor's sealed
We grant the petition and order the juvenile court not to release any information from the minor's sealed file. The Legislature has created no exception for the release of information from a sealed juvenile delinquency file to a third party criminal defendant; courts cannot create such an exception. Defendant argues that his inability to access the minor's sealed file may compromise his discovery rights and his right to effectively cross-examine the minor, but we are in no position to speculate on those matters. We anticipate that the trial court will make whatever rulings may be necessary to protect defendant's statutory and constitutional rights.
II
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In August 2015, Santa Ana police made contact with S.V. (petitioner and minor) and Isaiah Rene Harris (real party in interest and defendant) during a traffic stop.
In September 2015, the district attorney also filed a juvenile petition charging S.V. with the misdemeanor offense of making false statements to a police officer. ( Pen. Code, § 148.9.) A prosecutor said that "as a general matter in this county we don't charge juveniles with prostitution if we have a good faith belief that they have a pimp because by definition we think that makes them a human trafficking victim and pursuant to Evidence Code section 1161 there is no admissible evidence to hold them accountable for that
In August 2016, Harris filed a request for disclosure of information from S.V.'s juvenile dependency and juvenile delinquency files.
S.V. received notice and filed an objection to the release of information from her juvenile case file. (§ 827, subd. (a)(1)(P).) S.V. argued that her juvenile delinquency records had been ordered sealed by the juvenile court under section 827 and there was no applicable exception under that section allowing for their release.
The juvenile court conducted a hearing. Harris's attorney stated that: "During the course of law enforcement's contact with the minor she provides what is ultimately determined to be false information to the police officer and so that is all contained within the police report under the [report] number that pertains to Mr. Harris's criminal matter." Harris's attorney argued that criminal defendants have a "constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against them, to have competent counsel who is able to investigate all potential defenses, which includes credibility of any witnesses ... so in that context I am asking for the court to disclose any delinquency petitions that were filed as to
The juvenile court ruled that it had an obligation to review the files for exculpatory information bearing on S.V.'s veracity. The court ordered disclosure of S.V.'s delinquency file after "appropriate redaction" and "with a
S.V. filed a petition for writ of mandate to stop the release of information from her sealed juvenile delinquency file. This court stayed the juvenile court's order and issued an alternative writ of mandate. We ordered the court to set aside and vacate its order, or in the alternative, to show cause why a peremptory writ of mandate should not issue. The juvenile court did not comply. Harris, as real party in interest, filed a return. The district attorney sent a letter to this court stating that: "The People take no position on the Petition for Writ of Mandate."
III
DISCUSSION
Ordinarily, an order to release juvenile court records is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. ( In re Jeffrey T. (2006)
Statutory interpretation is a question of law, which we review de novo. ( John v. Superior Court (2016)
"The powers of state government are legislative, executive, and judicial. Persons charged with the exercise of one power may not exercise either of the others except as permitted by this Constitution." ( Cal. Const., art. III, § 3.) When interpreting a statute, our role is "to ascertain and declare what the statute contains, not to change its scope by reading into it language it does not contain or by reading out of it language it does. We may not rewrite the statute to conform to an assumed intention that does not appear in its language." ( Vasquez v. State of California (2008)
The Legislature has provided that "juvenile court records, in general, should be confidential." (§ 827, subd. (b)(1).) While most court records are available and open to the public for inspection, there are strong public policy reasons for keeping the records of juvenile proceedings confidential; among them, to protect children from adverse consequences and unnecessary emotional harm. ( Pack v. Kings County Human Services Agency (2001)
By statute, a minor's confidential juvenile case file may routinely be accessed by certain designated parties such as "court personnel," a "district attorney," and a "minor's parent or guardian." (§ 827, subd. (a)(1).) The Legislature has also created a procedure allowing third parties to gain access to a minor's confidential juvenile case file upon the filing of a petition with proper notice. (§ 827, subd. (a)(1)(P).) "If petitioner shows good cause, the court may set a hearing." ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.552(e)(2).) "In determining whether to authorize inspection or release of juvenile case files ... the court must balance the interests of the child and other parties to the juvenile court proceedings, the interests of the petitioner, and the interests of the public." ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.552(e)(4).) If a court "determines that all or a portion of the juvenile case file may be disclosed, the court must make appropriate orders ...." ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.552(e)(7).) "The court may issue protective orders to accompany authorized disclosure, discovery, or access." ( Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.552(e)(8).)
Here, the juvenile court applied the above procedures to Harris's request for access to S.V.'s juvenile delinquency file. But those procedures apply only to the inspection and release of a minor's confidential juvenile case file; everything changes once a minor's confidential file has been sealed .
B. A juvenile court may not release a minor's sealed delinquency records except in limited circumstances under specific exceptions provided for by the Legislature.
The purpose of sealing juvenile court records is " 'to protect minors from future prejudice resulting from their juvenile records.' " (In re Jeffrey T. , supra ,
There are two provisions of law allowing for the sealing of a minor's juvenile delinquency file; the first is long-standing and discretionary, the second is fairly recent and mandatory. When a minor has been declared a ward of the court, five years or more after jurisdiction has terminated, or any time after the minor has reached 18 years of age, the court "may" order the minor's records sealed upon a request by the minor or the probation department under section 781. Since 2015, when a juvenile court dismisses a minor's petition due to the satisfactory completion of an informal program of supervision (§ 654.2), informal probation (§ 725), or "a term of probation for any offense," the court "shall" order the records sealed under section 786.
When a juvenile court seals a minor's records under a discretionary order, "the proceedings in the case shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the person may properly reply accordingly to any inquiry about the events, the records of which are ordered sealed." (§ 781, subd. (a)(1)(A).) Similarly, when a court seals a minor's records under a mandatory order, "the arrest and other proceedings in the case shall be deemed not to have occurred and the person who was the subject of the petition may reply accordingly to an inquiry by employers, educational institutions, or other persons or entities regarding the
Under a discretionary sealing order, "the records shall not be open to inspection" (§ 781, subd. (a)(1)(A)(4)), subject to two exceptions: 1) when there is a showing of good cause for their admission in a defamation action; and 2) when the information has already been provided to the Department of Motor Vehicles, that agency can disclose information to authorized insurers for limited purposes of determining insurance eligibility and determining insurance rates. (§ 781, subds. (b) & (c).)
Under a mandatory sealing order, there are eight exceptions. In relevant part, the statute reads: "A record that has been ordered sealed by the court under this section may be accessed, inspected, or utilized only under any of the following circumstances: [ (1) ] By the prosecuting attorney, the probation department, or the court for the limited purpose of determining whether the
A person unfamiliar with the principles of statutory interpretation may assume that because the Legislature has specified at least some exceptions for the disclosure of a minor's sealed records, others may be implied. However, that is not the case. "Under the maxim of statutory construction, expressio unius est exclusio alterius , if exemptions are specified in a statute, we may not imply additional exemptions unless there is a clear legislative intent to the contrary." ( Sierra Club v. State Bd. of Forestry (1994)
Here, the juvenile court sealed S.V.'s records following a dismissal of her petition as it was required to do under section 786. Harris later filed a request asking the juvenile court to inspect and to release portions of S.V.'s sealed court records so that Harris could utilize those records for the purposes of his criminal trial. But within section 786, there are only eight specific exceptions in which the Legislature has provided that previously sealed juvenile records may be "accessed, inspected, or utilized." ( § 786, subd. (f)(1)(A)-(H).) Harris's request does not fall into any one of those exceptions; and, to the extent that the district attorney joined in the request, neither does the district attorney's request. (See § 786, subd. (f)(1)(A)-(H).)
Thus, under long standing principles of statutory interpretation, we hold that the juvenile court improperly inspected S.V.'s sealed records, and the court may not disclose any portion of those records to Harris. Because the law requiring the mandatory sealing of juvenile records-section 786-is relatively recent, this issue is apparently one of first impression. However, our holding is supported by an analogous case, In re James H. (2007)
In James H. , the petitioner, while a minor, had committed lewd acts with another minor. ( James H. , supra ,
In this case, similar to the two exceptions allowing for the disclosure of sealed juvenile records under section 781, the eight exceptions allowing for the disclosure of sealed juvenile records under section 786 are clear and unequivocal. And, just as there is no exception under section 781 that allowed the BPH to access the petitioner's sealed juvenile delinquency records, there is no exception under section 786 that allows Harris to access S.V.'s sealed juvenile delinquency records.
Here, Harris similarly argues that a criminal defendant's constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against him outweighs a person's interest in having his or her sealed juvenile court records remain confidential. But it is up to the Legislature to determine if, and under what circumstances, a criminal defendant may have access to a minor's sealed juvenile court records for purposes of a criminal trial. And, it would, of course, be up to the Legislature to adopt or amend whatever statutes it deems necessary to achieve its intended purposes.
C. We anticipate that the trial court will make whatever rulings may be necessary to ensure Harris's right to a fair trial.
Under the reciprocal discovery provisions of California law, both the defense and the prosecution have certain discovery rights and obligations. (See Cal. Const., art. I, § 30 ; Pen. Code, § 1054 et seq. ) Generally, an informal discovery request is required before a court can formally order either the defendant or the prosecutor to comply with a discovery request. ( Pen. Code, § 1054.5, subd. (b).)
A defendant's discovery obligations are fairly narrow and purely statutory. (See Pen. Code, § 1054.3.) The defense is generally obligated to disclose the names and addresses of its trial witnesses as well as their statements (excluding the defendant), and any real evidence to be introduced at trial. ( Pen. Code, § 1054.3.)
However, a prosecutor's discovery obligations are much broader and embrace both statutory and constitutional components. (See Pen. Code, § 1054.4.) Most importantly, the prosecutor must disclose to the defendant: "Any exculpatory evidence." ( Pen. Code, § 1054.1, subd. (e) ; Brady v. Maryland (1963)
If either party in a criminal action fails to comply with its discovery obligations, "a court may make any order necessary to enforce" the obligation, "including, but not limited to, immediate disclosure, contempt proceedings, delaying or prohibiting the testimony of a witness or the presentation of real evidence, continuance of the matter,
In addition to discovery rights and obligations, a criminal defendant has the constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses at trial. ( U.S. Const., 6th Amend.; Davis v. Alaska (1974)
Here, we cannot speculate as to whether Harris's inability to access S.V.'s sealed juvenile delinquency file may affect either his statutory or constitutional discovery rights in his upcoming trial. For instance, we have no information as to whether the prosecution has already fulfilled its Brady discovery obligations. From the limited record provided to us in this writ
As far as Harris's right to confront and cross-examine S.V. at trial, these are also speculative matters, particularly in advance of a trial that has yet to begin. (See People v. Hammon (1997)
In sum, any matters regarding Harris's rights and obligations are to be
IV
DISPOSITION
The petition for writ of mandate is granted. The juvenile court is ordered to set aside and vacate its order entered on August 12, 2016, granting real party in interest's request to disclose portions of the juvenile delinquency record in case No. DL051138-001, and enter a different order denying that request.
WE CONCUR:
BEDSWORTH, ACTING P.J.
IKOLA, J.
Notes
Further undesignated statutory references will be to the Welfare and Institutions Code.
"Evidence that a victim of human trafficking ... has engaged in any commercial sexual act as a result of being a victim of human trafficking is inadmissible to prove the victim's criminal liability for the commercial sexual act." (Evid. Code, § 1161, subd. (a).)
It is unclear when S.V. became a dependent of the juvenile dependency court. However, S.V.'s petition for writ of mandate "is related only to the issues regarding releasing information from the delinquency file ...."
S.V. suggests that as a result of the sealing of her records, she can refuse to answer questions at Harris's trial regarding the underlying facts prior to her arrest. While we cannot, of course, make any evidentiary rulings in advance of a trial that has yet to occur, we note that we do not interpret the statute as broadly as S.V. suggests.