In re L.A.B.

902 N.E.2d 471, 121 Ohio St. 3d 112
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 5, 2009
DocketNos. 2007-0895 and 2007-0912
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 902 N.E.2d 471 (In re L.A.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re L.A.B., 902 N.E.2d 471, 121 Ohio St. 3d 112 (Ohio 2009).

Opinions

Lanzinger, J.

{¶ 1} In this case, we are asked to determine whether Juv.R. 29 applies to probation revocation hearings in juvenile courts. We hold that it does. We also hold that the totality-of-the-circumstances test established in In re C.S., 115 Ohio St.3d 267, 2007-Ohio-4919, 874 N.E.2d 1177, ¶ 108, applies to determine whether a valid waiver of counsel has been made by a juvenile.

[113]*113I. Case Background

{¶ 2} In August 2005, appellant L.A.B., then 13, was found delinquent by the Juvenile Division of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas for entering an enclosed porch and stealing a minibike. He was placed on juvenile probation. L.A.B. appeared before the juvenile court a total of eight times.1 At the second hearing, and at each hearing afterward, he waived his right to counsel; until the last, each hearing ended with L.A.B. either being placed on probation or remaining on probation. On June 8, 2006, he again appeared before the court and waived his right to counsel. But at this last hearing, which the magistrate initially termed a “preliminary hearing on a probation violation,” L.A.B.’s probation was revoked and he was sent to the Ohio Department of Youth Services for at least one year and potentially until he reached the age of 21.

{¶ 3} L.A.B. appealed, contending that his constitutional right to counsel had been violated. The Ninth District Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment, holding in part that Juv.R. 29 does not apply to probation revocation hearings and that because the court had satisfied the requirements in Juv.R. 35(B), L.A.B.’s waiver of counsel was valid. In re L.A.B., 9th Dist. No. 23309, 2007-Ohio-1479, 2007 WL 942116, ¶ 7, 14. The court of appeals certified its judgment in favor of appellee, state of Ohio, as being in conflict with the judgment in In re Lohr, 7th Dist. No. 06 MO 6, 2007-0hio-1130, 2007 WL 754696.

{¶ 4} We determined that a conflict exists and ordered the parties to brief the following question: “Does Juvenile Rule 29 apply to probation revocation hearings in juvenile court?” In re L.A.B., 114 Ohio St.3d 1476, 2007-Ohio-3699, 870 N.E.2d 729. We also accepted jurisdiction over the two propositions of law set forth in L.A.B.’s discretionary appeal. In re L.A.B., 114 Ohio St.3d 1478, 2007-Ohio-3699, 870 N.E.2d 731. The first proposition of law asks us to hold that a juvenile has the right to counsel at all stages of the juvenile process and that this right may be waived during a probation revocation hearing only upon strict compliance with federal and state due-process requirements. The second proposition of law asks us to hold that a magistrate’s failure to warn a juvenile of the obligation to file objections to the magistrate’s decision, pursuant to Juv.R. 40, before permitting the juvenile to waive the right to counsel constitutes structural error.

L.A.B.’s Previous Hearings

{¶ 5} L.A.B. initially had been brought before the juvenile court on a burglary charge. At a hearing scheduled as a pretrial on August 24, 2005, after L.A.B. [114]*114stated that he wished to waive his right to counsel, the magistrate questioned him to determine why he wanted to waive that right:

{¶ 6} “THE COURT: You don’t want to have a lawyer?

{¶ 7} “[L.A.B.]: No.

{¶ 8} “THE COURT: You are sure?

{¶ 9} “[L.A.B.]: Yes.

{¶ 10} “THE COURT: And why don’t you want to have one?

{¶ 11} “[L.A.B.]: Because I know I took the bike.”

{¶ 12} After finding that L.A.B. had made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of his rights to trial and an attorney, the magistrate accepted L.A.B.’s admission to the charge of burglary. L.A.B. was then placed on probation.

{¶ 13} From his initial hearing date until June 2006, L.A.B. appeared before the court six times to address alleged violations of his probation. At each hearing, the magistrate found that L.A.B. had validly waived his right to counsel, yet, before each hearing, the magistrate did not inquire into the depth of L.A.B.’s understanding of his right to counsel. Generally, the magistrate simply told L.A.B. of his right to counsel and that counsel would be appointed if he could not afford an attorney. At the hearing held on May 17, 2006, L.A.B. was notified of his right to an attorney but not of his right to have one appointed for him. During the May 2, 2006 hearing, the magistrate told L.A.B. of his right to an attorney and the right to have an appointed attorney and also that “an attorney is someone who is licensed to practice law here in Ohio, and that attorney would be familiar with juvenile law.”

June 2006 Hearing

{¶ 14} On June 8, 2006, L.A.B. appeared before the court for another hearing on a probation violation. The hearing was initiated by a form entitled “PROBATION VIOLATION / VIOLATION OF COURT — ORDER,” specifying that L.A.B. had violated his probation by not attending the Youthful Offender Program (“YOC”) on a regular basis. At the start of the hearing, the magistrate stated that the matter was before the court for a “preliminary hearing on a probation violation” and noted that L.A.B. was present with his mother and probation officer. After confirming that L.A.B. had received a copy of the complaint, the magistrate asked whether L.A.B. sought to have an attorney appointed:

{¶ 15} “THE COURT: All right, [L.A.B.]. You have the right to be represented by a lawyer at any time. If you can’t afford a lawyer, I will give you one that you do not have to pay for.

{¶ 16} “[L.A.B.]: Yes.

[115]*115{¶ 17} “THE COURT: Do you want to be represented by a lawyer or do you want to proceed today without a lawyer?

{¶ 18} “[L.A.B.]: Without a lawyer.”

{¶ 19} The magistrate then notified L.A.B. of his other rights and explained that the potential penalty for the probation violation would be the revocation of his probation and commitment to the Department of Youth Services for a term of at least one year and with a maximum term of until he reached 21. L.A.B. was not told that disposition would be made immediately. L.A.B. admitted the probation violation, and the magistrate found that he had knowingly and intelligently given up his rights and admitted the violation.

{¶ 20} The magistrate then noted that L.A.B. had been suspended from his last day of school and that he faced a new charge of theft. At this point, the hearing apparently turned into a dispositional hearing:

{¶ 21} “THE COURT: Is there anything you want to talk about?

{¶ 22} “[LAB.]: No.

{¶ 23} “THE COURT: How long you been on probation?

{¶ 24} “[L.A.B.]: I don’t know.

{¶ 25} “THE COURT: You don’t know?

{¶ 26} “This case that you are — this robbery, F-2 robbery, is July of 2005, so you’ve at least been on probation — August 24, 2005 you were given six months’ probation, so you have been on probation since August of 2005, so like ten months.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
902 N.E.2d 471, 121 Ohio St. 3d 112, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-lab-ohio-2009.