In re Javier B.

280 P.3d 644, 230 Ariz. 100, 638 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12, 2012 WL 2863477, 2012 Ariz. App. LEXIS 113
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJuly 12, 2012
DocketNo. 1 CA-JV 11-0256
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 280 P.3d 644 (In re Javier B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Javier B., 280 P.3d 644, 230 Ariz. 100, 638 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12, 2012 WL 2863477, 2012 Ariz. App. LEXIS 113 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

OROZCO, Judge.

¶ 1 Appellant Javier B. (Juvenile) appeals the juvenile court order that he register as a sex offender until age twenty-five. We affirm the order because we determine that we have jurisdiction and that the evidence is sufficient to support the juvenile court’s order. In regard to our jurisdiction, we hold that an order imposing sex offender registration after the juvenile court’s initial disposition can be a final, appealable order even though the time for appeal of the disposition has expired.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 2 In 2008, when Juvenile was fourteen years old, he engaged in sexual conduct with his then ten-year-old sister. In July 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, Juvenile admitted to one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor, a class 3 felony, in exchange for the dismissal of the remaining counts. Juvenile was placed on probation with the requirement that he pai’tieipate in and complete sex offender treatment. At that time, the court deferred its determination of whether to order Juvenile to register as a sex offender.

¶ 3 In August 2010, Juvenile was charged with violating his probation. Juvenile admitted violating his probation by being unsuccessfully discharged from treatment at a therapeutic group home. The court continued Juvenile on probation with the condition that he participate in and successfully complete sex offender treatment. The court again deferred the issue of sex offender registration.

¶ 4 Juvenile completed a residential care sexual behavior treatment program at a different therapeutic group home. Upon release, Juvenile lived with his aunt. However, approximately three weeks into his community reintegration, Juvenile violated his probation by viewing pornographic images on the internet. Consequently, the court revoked Juvenile’s probation and committed him to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC) in May 2011. The court deferred the registration issue for a third time.

¶ 5 Shortly before the court was set to review Juvenile’s sex offender status, a psychologist evaluated Juvenile to assist the court in making its decision regarding sex offender registration. The psychologist reported that Juvenile actively participated in a sexual behavior treatment program while incarcerated but recommended that Juvenile “continue to advance in his specialized sexual behavior treatment.” He also opined that [102]*102Juvenile “would benefit from placement in a structured and supportive environment with adult supervision.” The psychologist recommended that Juvenile be subject to the following specialized conditions: “No unsupervised contact with children under the age of 14, restriction from areas where young children may frequent, no video programming or pornography depicting deviant sexual themes such as children as sexual objects, rape, or females as submissive sexual objects.” Noting that Juvenile would be turning eighteen in March 2012, the psychologist concluded that Juvenile “would benefit from continued support, environmental structure, and guidance during his community adjustment.”

¶ 6 The court addressed the issue of sex offender registration at a hearing held in December 2011. The court reviewed the court file, the juvenile probation officer’s most current report, and the probation file, including the psychologist’s evaluation. The court also listened to the interested parties.

¶ 7 The juvenile probation officer recommended “for community safety” that Juvenile register as a sex offender. The State expressed concerns that Juvenile violated his probation multiple times and had twenty-three incident reports while committed to the ADJC despite knowing the court would be scrutinizing his actions before deciding whether to order him to register as a sex offender. The State was also concerned that Juvenile would still be a risk to the community because “his plan for when he’s back into the community is really undeveloped.” Ultimately, the State recommended Juvenile register as a sex offender.

¶ 8 Juvenile’s attorney argued that Juvenile had favorably progressed in his treatment and was actively engaged in rehabilitation. She suggested Juvenile “be released to [Child Protective Services]” so he could “put the tools that he’s learned into place without having the long-term effects of registering until he’s [twenty-five].”

¶ 9 The court took the matter under advisement and later ordered that Juvenile register as a sex offender. Juvenile timely appealed that order.

DISCUSSION

Jurisdiction

¶ 10 The State challenges this court’s jurisdiction to review the order that Juvenile register as a sex offender, arguing that the order was not final and appealable. Essentially, the State contends that because “[a] juvenile’s interest in speedy justice is paramount” and the court deferred the registration issue for over two years, policy dictates that the registration order should not be considered a final order. Therefore, according to the State, we do not have jurisdiction. However, in making this argument, the State assumes that there can only be one final order in delinquency cases, and therefore “[t]he only way this last order can be construed as a final order for purposes of appeal would be to say that the juvenile court kept all the previous disposition orders in this case ... from becoming final, appealable orders ____” We disagree and find the registration order was a separate final order.

¶ 11 An aggrieved party in a juvenile court proceeding may appeal only from a final order. Ariz.Rev.Stat. (A.R.S.) § 8-235.A (2007); Ariz. R.P. Juv. Ct. 103(A); Pima Cnty. Juv. Action No. S-933, 135 Ariz. 278, 280, 660 P.2d 1205, 1207 (1982). However, “[n]either the rules nor the statute define a final order for purposes of appeal.” Rita J. v. Ariz. Dep’t of Econ. Sec., 196 Ariz. 512, 513, ¶ 2, 1 P.3d 155, 156 (App.2000). The disposition order is a final order in a delinquency action. Maricopa Cnty. Juv. Action No. J-74222, 20 Ariz.App. 570, 571, 514 P.2d 741, 742 (1973). The courts of this state have not addressed what constitutes a final, appealable order in delinquency cases involving sex offender registration requirements imposed long after the disposition order.

¶ 12 We conclude that both the disposition oi’der and a later order requiring sex offender registration will generally be final, appealable orders. We base this conclusion on logic, practicality, and the goal of juvenile rehabilitation. We also find support by analogy in the holdings of our supreme court and this court that juvenile dependency eases may have more than one final, appealable order. For example, our supreme court not[103]*103ed in Yavapai County Juvenile Action No. J-8545, 140 Ariz. 10, 13 n. 1, 680 P.2d 146, 149 n.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
280 P.3d 644, 230 Ariz. 100, 638 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12, 2012 WL 2863477, 2012 Ariz. App. LEXIS 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-javier-b-arizctapp-2012.