In Re Martin L.

187 Cal. App. 3d 534, 232 Cal. Rptr. 43
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 26, 1986
DocketB010447
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 187 Cal. App. 3d 534 (In Re Martin L.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Martin L., 187 Cal. App. 3d 534, 232 Cal. Rptr. 43 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

187 Cal.App.3d 534 (1986)
232 Cal. Rptr. 43

In re MARTIN L., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
MARTIN L., Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. B010447.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Six.

November 26, 1986.

*538 COUNSEL

Joseph D. Allen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson and Roy C. Preminger, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

STONE, P.J.

Martin L., a minor, appeals from a juvenile court order of January 8, 1985, sustaining a petition filed pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 and committing him to California Youth Authority (YA).[1] The unified petition filed pursuant to sections 777 and 602, *539 and sustained by the court as a section 602 petition only, alleged that on or about November 27, 1984, appellant wilfully possessed and was knowingly under the influence of toluene in violation of Penal Code section 381, a misdemeanor. The specific facts of that offense are not disputed and will be discussed where pertinent to a particular issue. He contends there was insufficient evidence that he knew his conduct was wrongful, the court committed reversible error at the jurisdictional hearing by reviewing previous social studies, the dispositional order committing him to YA must be reversed because the supplemental petition under section 777 was not sustained, and he is entitled to immediate release from YA because he has served more than the maximum legal term. We find no error and affirm the order.

DISCUSSION

I. Evidence Sufficient at Jurisdictional Hearing to Support Required Finding That Minor Knew His Conduct Was Wrongful.

Martin was 13 years old at the time the instant section 602 petition was sustained. Penal Code section 26 provides, in pertinent part that "[a]ll persons are capable of committing crimes except those belonging to the following classes: [¶] One — Children under the age of 14, in the absence of clear proof that at the time of committing the act charged against them, they knew its wrongfulness." Section 602 applies to minors under 14 only if they clearly appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct and a juvenile court must consider the child's age, experience and understanding in making that determination. (In re Gladys R. (1970) 1 Cal.3d 855, 864, 867 [83 Cal. Rptr. 671, 464 P.2d 127].)

Appellant contends that, to find the requisite knowledge on his part, the juvenile court could not rely on judicial notice that prior section 602 petitions had been sustained for the same offense and that he was on probation for the identical offense when he committed the present one. He is incorrect. (1) A court may take judicial notice of records and orders in its own file. (Evid. Code § 452, subd. (d)(1); In re Harold M. (1978) 78 Cal. App.3d 380, 385 [144 Cal. Rptr. 744].) (2) Evidence of prior petitions sustained for the same offense is relevant to knowledge of the wrongfulness of conduct and admissible under Evidence Code section 1280 as official records. (In re Harold M., supra, 78 Cal. App.3d at 385.) This evidence supports the inference that the minor knew paint-sniffing was illegal and wrong and the knowledge of that wrongfulness was brought directly to his attention through police detention and court officers. (Ibid.) As the juvenile court indicated, it is difficult to envision stronger evidence that he knew the wrongfulness of his conduct than evidence that he had two prior petitions sustained and was on probation for the identical offense when arrested. Additionally, the *540 can of spray paint found in his waistband contained a warning that the can contained toluene and should not be sniffed. (Appellant had a rolled-up sock stained with paint in his pocket.) Substantial evidence supports the court's determination that Martin understood the wrongfulness of his behavior.

(3) Appellant further contends that proof the court previously admonished him at prior hearings is not the same as proof that he understood the admonishments. His argument fails on that issue as well. Evidence Code section 664 provides that an official duty is presumed to have been regularly performed. The presumption prescribed by Evidence Code section 664 affects the burden of proof and, where the presumption is applicable, its effect is to impose upon the party against whom it operates the burden of proof of nonexistence of the presumed fact. (People v. Gray (1967) 254 Cal. App.2d 256, 265 [63 Cal. Rptr. 211]; see also People v. Moran (1970) 1 Cal.3d 755, 762 [83 Cal. Rptr. 411, 463 P.2d 763].) (4) The minute orders and judgments of the juvenile court are presumed valid and, if the court at that time failed to do its official duty in determining that appellant understood the wrongfulness of his acts when it sustained the previous petitions, appellant's remedy was to challenge those orders by direct appeal. It is too late to do so now. (See In re Ronald E. (1977) 19 Cal.3d 315, 326 [137 Cal. Rptr. 781, 562 P.2d 684].)

II. The Trial Court Did Not Consider Inadmissible Material Before Adjudication of Criminal Responsibility.

(5) Appellant contends the trial court violated the precepts of In re Gladys R., supra, 1 Cal.3d 855, by considering "previous matters in the file" to supply an essential element of the charge, i.e., wrongfulness of his conduct. Appellant mistakenly recalls the trial court's action and incorrectly interprets Gladys R. In In re Gladys R., supra, the Supreme Court said that a juvenile court should not consider the social study at the adjudication hearings. (Id., at p. 860.) Here, the trial court took judicial notice of its own file and the fact that on May 14, a petition was filed in the same court alleging the "selfsame offense for which the minor is now on trial in this matter," and also took judicial notice that on June 12th, he was placed on probation for that offense.

There is no indication the court relied on inadmissible social studies or anything other than the orders sustaining the petitions, placing the minor on probation and the probation terms, all part of official records. These were not hearsay allegations or improper matters or legally incompetent material in a social or probation report. (Cf. In re Gladys R., supra, I *541 Cal.3d at p. 860; 2 Jefferson, Cal. Evidence Benchbook (Cont.Ed.Bar 1982) § 47.2, Judicial Notice.)

III. Disposition Order Not Reversible Due to Refusal to Sustain Section 777 Petition.

The petition filed in the instant case was captioned as a petition under both section 602 to establish the commission of a new offense and section 777, a supplemental petition to change placement because previous orders had been ineffective in the minor's rehabilitation. The petition further alleges that the maximum confinement time was eight years and six months and requests a change in prior dispositional orders of the court and aggregation of confinement time at time of disposition.

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Bluebook (online)
187 Cal. App. 3d 534, 232 Cal. Rptr. 43, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-martin-l-calctapp-1986.