Dependency of QLM v. DSHS

20 P.3d 465
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMarch 28, 2001
Docket48026-0-I
StatusPublished

This text of 20 P.3d 465 (Dependency of QLM v. DSHS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dependency of QLM v. DSHS, 20 P.3d 465 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

20 P.3d 465 (2001)
105 Wash.App. 532

In re the DEPENDENCY OF Q.L.M., Respondent,
v.
STATE of Washington, DEPARTMENT of SOCIAL and HEALTH SERVICES, Appellant.

No. 48026-0-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

March 28, 2001.

*466 David J.W. Hackett, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Michael W. Collins, Asst. Attorney General, Seattle, for Appellant.

Susan J. Craighead, Public Defender Assoc., Isaac S. Stevens, SCRAP, Seattle, for Respondent.

AGID, C.J.

When the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) has custody of a juvenile offender who appears to be a sexually violent predator, the predator statute requires DSHS to forward all psychological evaluation and treatment records to the prosecutor to consider filing a predator petition. Q.L.M. is both a dependent child and juvenile sex offender who participated in sexually aggressive youth (SAY) evaluations through the dependency court. When DSHS planned to release the SAY evaluations to the prosecutor, the dependency court enjoined the release, finding Q.L.M. had an equitable interest in confidentiality. Because it is well settled that courts will not grant equitable relief in contravention of a statutory requirement, Q.L.M. had no clear legal or equitable right to confidentiality in the SAY evaluations, and the trial court erred in issuing an injunction barring DSHS from complying with the statute. We reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Q.L.M., now 16, has been a dependent child since 1996. In 1999 when placement with Q.L.M.'s extended family became impossible, DSHS asked the dependency court to order a SAY evaluation to determine placement and treatment for him.[1] Q.L.M. participated in the evaluation. Two months later, the dependency court relied on State v. Decker, 68 Wash.App. 246, 842 P.2d 500 (1992)[2] to enter a protective order regarding that evaluation. In addition to granting use *467 immunity for information about unadjudicated crimes, the court's order provided that any information from the evaluation "shall not be disseminated to the King County Prosecutor" and limited dissemination within DSHS to the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

In April 2000, Q.L.M. was living in a group placement through DSHS when he committed unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation and two fourth degree assaults with sexual motivation against girls in the group home. He pled guilty and participated in another evaluation to determine if he was eligible for a special sex offender disposition alternative (SSODA). In October 2000, the court entered a manifest injustice disposition committing Q.L.M. to the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) for 36 weeks.

In anticipation of Q.L.M.'s release, the dependency court ordered a second SAY evaluation, followed it with another Decker order covering this evaluation, and DSHS referred his case to the End of Sentence Review Board. The Board reviewed the case and referred it to the King County Prosecutor's Office to consider filing a sexually violent predator petition. DSHS released most of its materials on Q.L.M. to the prosecutor. Although DSHS also intended to release the SAY evaluations, it gave Q.L.M.'s dependency counsel the opportunity to challenge the release.

Q.L.M. then sought injunctive relief in the dependency court to prevent DSHS from releasing the SAY evaluations and to forbid the prosecutor from using, considering or disseminating any other documents from the dependency proceedings. Counsel from both Q.L.M.'s dependency proceedings and his most recent criminal case filed affidavits stating that they were unaware that juveniles were subject to sexually violent predator commitment and had not warned Q.L.M. that SAY evaluations could be used in such a proceeding. The King County Prosecutor's Office was allowed to intervene in the dependency for purposes of contesting the requested injunction.[3]

The court issued an injunction prohibiting release of the SAY evaluations but allowed the prosecutor access to the other dependency records. The court rejected Q.L.M.'s constitutional and statutory arguments, but ruled that he had an equitable right to confidentiality.

The King County Prosecutor and DSHS appeal. The prosecutor moved for accelerated review because it asserts a need to consider the information in the SAY evaluations to decide whether to file a sexually violent predator petition before Q.L.M.'s release. A commissioner of this court granted the motion. We heard oral argument on an accelerated basis and issued an order reversing the trial court. This opinion follows.

DISCUSSION

Detention of a sexually violent predator is a civil proceeding.[4] The Legislature has included juvenile sex offenders in the group subject to commitment as sexually violent predators.[5] If DSHS has a juvenile offender in custody who is about to be released and appears to be a sexually violent predator, the Department must refer the case to the prosecuting attorney in the county in which the juvenile was charged.[6]*468 In such a case, the statute requires that DSHS, as the referring agency, "shall provide the prosecutor with all relevant information including ..." [a]ll records relating to the psychological or psychiatric evaluation and/or treatment of the person[.][7]

Q.L.M. sought an injunction prohibiting DSHS from forwarding the SAY evaluations to the prosecutor. A party seeking injunctive relief must establish: (1) a clear legal or equitable right; (2) a well-grounded fear of immediate invasion of that right; and (3) that the acts complained of are either resulting in or will result in actual and substantial injury to that party.[8] The question whether or not to grant an injunction is addressed to the discretion of the trial court in accordance with the circumstances of each case .[9] The decision exercising that discretion will be upheld unless it is based upon untenable grounds, is manifestly unreasonable, or is arbitrary.[10]

Q.L.M. argued in the trial court that he had statutory, constitutional, and equitable rights to prevent the release of all dependency materials. Even though the court rejected the majority of Q.L.M.'s arguments and was aware of the statute mandating release of the records for use in predator filings, it nonetheless found an equitable right to prevent release of the SAY evaluations.

His equitable right to the confidentiality of these records is based on the fact that a child in [Q.L.M.'s] position would have no idea that the SAY evaluations could be used for the purpose of filing a sexual predator petition, nor has there been any showing that he was advised by agents of the state of the potential use of these evaluations. A child who was advised by his attorneys that he should fully participate in the evaluations because he could get in no more trouble is entitled to rely on that implicit assurance. This reasonable reliance creates an equitable right to the confidentiality of these records. As a matter of fundamental fairness, this Court cannot ignore [Q.L.M.'s] reliance on the confidentiality of these evaluations.[11]

The State relies on the well-settled rule that courts "will not give relief on equitable grounds in contravention of a statutory requirement" to argue that the injunction was contrary to law.[12] We agree that, because *469

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Bluebook (online)
20 P.3d 465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dependency-of-qlm-v-dshs-washctapp-2001.