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Name: People v. Chacon
Case #: F038393
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Opinion Date: 06/26/2003
Subsequent History: Rev. granted 10/1/03: S117879
Summary

The juvenile court had the express statutory discretion to order a juvenile disposition such as a ranch, camp, or Youth Authority, or to impose an adult sentence, where a 17-year old minor with no known prior criminal history was found guilty of assault on a “discretionary direct file” authorized by Proposition 21. Therefore, where the record showed that the court had no awareness of that discretion, and sentenced the minor to state prison following his adult criminal trial, remand was required for than exercise of informed judicial discretion. The requirement of Penal Code section 1170.19, subdivision (a)(4) that on a discretionary direct file a court must secure a prosecutor’s consent to order a juvenile disposition violates the state Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine.