Alternatives to Petition

Name: In re Brandon H.
Case #: A166195
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 3
Opinion Date: 08/05/2024

Asked to dismiss and seal three of appellant’s delinquency petitions (WIC 786), the juvenile court erred in citing the ineligibility of the second petition under WIC 707(b) as a basis for refusing to dismiss the third, eligible petition. WIC 786 requires that each petition be evaluated individually. The court had no discretion, though, to dismiss the first petition when appellant suffered the second sustained petition while still on probation for the first (WIC 786(c)(1)).

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here:

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Name: In re Jorge D.
Case #: G051403
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 3
Citation: 246 Cal.App.4th 363
Opinion Date: 04/06/2016

Order declaring minor a ward reversed because arresting officer did not comply with Penal Code section 647, subdivision (g) by placing the intoxicated minor in civil protective custody. An officer arrested Jorge for being drunk in public (Pen. Code, § 647, subd. (f)). During delinquency proceedings, the officer testified that he drove Jorge home and did not place him in civil protective custody because the officer was unaware of a statute that required him to do so. The juvenile court declared Jorge a ward. Jorge appealed, arguing the detaining officer did not comply with section 647, subdivision (g). Held: Reversed.…

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Name: In re K.C.
Case #: C068161
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Citation: 220 Cal.App.4th 465
Opinion Date: 10/10/2013

Although restitution ordered as a condition of informal supervision (Welf. & Inst. Code § 654.2) cannot be converted to a civil judgment under Welfare and Institutions Code section 730.6, minor was estopped from raising the issue on appeal because he agreed that section 730.6 would apply. In exchange for informal supervision under section 654.2, minor agreed that a $4,248.14 restitution order would remain in effect until paid in full pursuant to section 730.6 and would not be discharged upon termination of probation. After minor successfully completed his informal supervision, the section 602 petition was dismissed and, over minor's objection, the…

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Name: In re Joey G.
Case #: D059598
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 1
Citation: 206 Cal.App.4th 343
Opinion Date: 05/23/2012

A minor cannot simultaneously be a dependent and a delinquent ward of the court. It is an abuse of discretion for a juvenile court to determine delinquency jurisdiction without following the protocol of Welfare and Institutions Code section 241.1 to determine which status will serve the minor's best interests and the protection of society. Joey, already a foster child pursuant to a Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 dependency action, was the subject of a petition for juvenile delinquency based on an allegation that he committed grand theft. Without a hearing pursuant to section 241.1, the court took jurisdiction…

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Name: In re Christopher F.
Case #: B220546
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 7
Citation: 194 Cal.App.4th 462
Opinion Date: 04/18/2011
Subsequent History: opn. mod. on 5/3/2011

In a Welfare & Institutions 602 delinquency proceeding, although a minor has a due process right to a competency hearing, Penal Code section 1369 does not apply. A Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 petition was filed alleging that Christopher F. had threatened his high school dean pursuant to Penal Code section 422. Prior to trial, minor's counsel expressed a doubt as to the minor's competence and the court suspended proceedings and appointed a mental health expert from the University of Southern California Institute of Psychiatry, Dr. Rowan, to evaluate the minor. At the subsequent competency hearing, Dr. Rowan…

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Name: In re Joshua S.
Case #: A128295
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 2
Citation: 192 Cal.App.4th 670
Opinion Date: 02/08/2011

A minor is eligible for Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ) under Welfare and Institutions Code section 790, if jurisdictional and dispositional hearings have not occurred, and he is not precluded from pursuing a suppression motion or admitting allegations of an amended petition. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 790, assuming that specified criteria of the statute are met, in lieu of jurisdictional and dispositional hearings, a minor may admit allegations of a section 602 petition and judgment is deferred. If the minor successfully completes a term of probation, the charges are dismissed and the records of the juvenile court are…

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Name: In re T.J.
Case #: C061890
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Citation: 185 Cal.App.4th 1504
Opinion Date: 06/28/2010

Eligibility for the Deferred Entry of Judgment [DEJ] program (Welfare & Institutions Code section 790 et seq.) is dependent on minor’s admission of each allegation contained in the petition in lieu of the jurisdictional hearing, assuming the offense[s] is not one of those enumerated in sect. 707, subd. (b). A petition was filed alleging minor committed three counts of Penal Code section 288, subdivision (b)(1) (forcible lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 years). Following a jurisdictional hearing the court found that the force element had not been…

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Name: In re Damian M.
Case #: D055552
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 1
Citation: 185 Cal.App.4th 1
Opinion Date: 05/27/2010

The court does not abuse its discretion in denying deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) to an otherwise eligible minor if it determines that the level of criminal sophistication involved in the offense is such that the minor requires more intensive supervision. The minor was arrested at the California/Mexico border, attempting to smuggle 10.1 pounds of marijuana in his car into the U.S. The court denied his request for DEJ, despite the probation officer recommending the program. The trial court based its decision on the level of criminal sophistication involved in the offense. The appellate court affirmed, noting that Welfare and…

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Name: G. C. v. Superior Court
Case #: H034808
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 6 DCA
Citation: 183 Cal.App.4th 371
Opinion Date: 03/30/2010

Welfare and Institutions Code section 742.16, which requires courts to consider ability to pay when ordering restitution for graffiti abatement, applies even in the context where a delinquent minor has been granted deferred entry of judgment (Welf. & Inst. Code, sec. 790, et seq.) for an offense of felony vandalism by graffiti. A young tagger was alleged to have committed a single felony count of vandalism by graffiti and there was a request for restitution by the City of San Jose for $516 to clean up the graffiti. He was granted deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) which included community service,…

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Name: In re Henry S.
Case #: F048791
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 5 DCA
Citation: 140 Cal.App.4th 248
Opinion Date: 06/08/2006

The minor was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident and evading a police officer. The prosecutor filed a juvenile wardship petition under section 602, and minor's counsel requested a joint assessment report and a contested hearing pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 241.1 to determine whether the minor should be treated as a delinquent child or dependent child under section 300. The juvenile court denied the minor's motion to present witnesses and evidence at the contested hearing. The juvenile court found it appropriate to treat the minor as a section 600 ward, and the…

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