Clemons v. State

317 N.E.2d 859, 162 Ind. App. 50, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 798
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 30, 1974
Docket3-673A72
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 317 N.E.2d 859 (Clemons v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clemons v. State, 317 N.E.2d 859, 162 Ind. App. 50, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 798 (Ind. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

Staton, J.

James Clemons was seventeen years old when a delinquency petition charging him with first degree burglary, transportation of stolen property across the state line, and possession of false selective service registration cards was filed in juvenile court. A second petition was filed by the prosecutor requesting that James Clemons be waived from juvenile court jurisdiction so that he could be tried as an adult pursuant to IC 1971, 31-5-7-14 (Burns Code Ed.). After the waiver hearing, Clemons was waived by the juvenile court to the Porter Superior Court. Clemons pled guilty to a charge of third degree burglary and was sentenced to a term not to exceed one year on the Indiana State Farm. His appeal to this Court raises three issues:

Issue One: Is IC 1971, 31-5-7-14 (Burns Code Ed.) unconstitutional for failure to provide standards for waiver ?
Issue Two: Was Clemons denied procedural due process by the admission of hearsay at his waiver hearing?
Issue Three: Was there sufficient evidence to support the waiver order?

In our review of these three issues, we conclude that IC 1971, 31-5-7-14, supra, is not unconstitutional, that Clemons was accorded a fair hearing fulfilling the requirements of due process and that there was sufficient evidence to support the waiver order.. We affirm.

*52 I.

Constitutionality

There is a strong presumption favoring the constitutionality of a statute. Cheaney v. State (1972), 259 Ind. 138, 285 N.E. 2d 265, cert. denied 410 U.S. 991, 93 S.Ct. 1516, 36 L.Ed.2d 189 (1973); Hicks v. State (1967), 249 Ind. 24, 230 N.E. 2d 757.

Clemons contends that IC 1971, 31-5-7-14 is void for vagueness in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution. He relies upon People v. Fields (1972), 388 Mich. 66, 199 N.W.2d 217 which held a statute similar to the Indiana waiver statute to be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to the judiciary.

There has been some confusion between the non-delegation doctrine and procedural due process. This is understandable since the standards requirement in delegation cases is evolving into a protection of the individual from arbitrary or discriminatory exercises of discretion. See People v. Fields (1974), 391 Mich. 206, 216 N.W.2d 51, aff’d on rehearing (dissenting opinion); Warren v. Marion County (1960), 222 Or. 307, 314, 353 P.2d 257, 261; DAVIS, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW TREATISE § 2.00 (1970 Supp.). However, we have concluded that IC 1971, 31-5-7-14 does not violate either the non-delegation doctrine or the due process clause.

We will treat the delegation of legislative power challenge solely as a challenge to separation of powers under Article 3, § 1 and Article 4, § 1 of the Indiana Constitution. Although the non-delegation doctrine in Indiana prohibits the legislature from delegating its power to make law, the legislature can delegate power to determine facts or the state of things upon which the application of the law depends. Kryder v. State (1938), 214 Ind. 419, 424, 15 N.E.2d 386; City of Aurora v. Bryant (1960), 240 Ind. 492, 165 N.E.2d 141; Noble v. City of Warsaw (1973), 156 Ind. *53 App. 618, 297 N.E.2d 916; 16 AM.JUR.2d Constitutional Law § 256 (1964). The challenged statute, IC 1971, 31-5-7-14 (Burns Code Ed.) provides:

“If a child fifteen [15] years of age or older is charged with an offense which would amount to a crime if committed by an adult, the judge, after full investigation, may waive jurisdiction and order such child held for trial under the regular procedure of the court which would have jurisdiction of such offense if committed by an adult; or such court may exercise the powers conferred upon the juvenile court in this act [31-5-7-1 — 31-5-7-25] in conducting and disposing of such case: Provided, That the judges of the juvenile courts of this state who shall waive the jurisdiction of such child as provided herein may at the time of the waiver fix a recognizance bond for the person to answer the charge in the court which would have jurisdiction of such offense if committed by an adult.”

As Justice DeBruler recognized in Atkins v. State (1972), 259 Ind. 596, 290 N.E.2d 441, the standards to be used by the juvenile judge in making the decision to either waive or retain jurisdiction are derived from the structure and purpose of the juvenile justice system itself. The overall purpose of the juvenile justice system is found in IC 1971, 31-5-7-1 (Burns Code Ed.) as follows:

“The purpose of this act [31-5-7-1 — 31-5-7-25] is to secure for each child within its provisions such care, guidance and control, preferably in his own home, as will serve the child’s welfare and the best interests of the state; and when such child is removed from his own family, to secure for him custody, care and discipline as nearly as possible equivalent to that which should have been given by his parents.”

Thus, under IC 1971, 31-5-7-14, the juvenile court judge must determine if the child is 15 years or older, if he is charged with an offense which would amount to a crime if committed by an adult, and if waiver will serve the child’s welfare and the best interests of the state. This is not lawmaking; it is an exercise of judicial discretion. We note that the Supreme Courts of Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada *54 and New Mexico have declared similar broad standards sufficient to overcome an unconstitutional delegation challenge. State ex rel. Londerholm, v. Owens (1966), 197 Kan. 212, 416 P.2d 259; In re Juvenile (1974), 364 Mass. 531, 306 N.E.2d 822; Lewis v. State (1970), 86 Nev. 889, 478 P.2d 168; 1 State v. Doyal (1955), 59 N.M. 454, 286 P.2d 306 [recently reaffirmed in State v. Jimenez (1972), 84 N.M. 335, 503 P.2d 315]. 2 Only People v. Fields, supra, has held the Michigan waiver statute to be an unconstitutional delegation. In In re Juvenile, supra, 306 N.E.2d at 827 n.7, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts expressly refused to follow the Fields case. The Fields

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
317 N.E.2d 859, 162 Ind. App. 50, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clemons-v-state-indctapp-1974.