In Re the Welfare of J.G.B.

443 N.W.2d 867, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 908, 1989 WL 90470
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 15, 1989
DocketC1-88-2339
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 443 N.W.2d 867 (In Re the Welfare of J.G.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Welfare of J.G.B., 443 N.W.2d 867, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 908, 1989 WL 90470 (Mich. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

NORTON, Judge.

This is an appeal from an order referring J.G.B. for prosecution in adult court on three separate delinquency petitions. J.G.B. claims that her constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated, that her due process rights were violated, and that the evidence does not support the trial court’s conclusion that she is unamenable to treatment and a threat to the public safety. We reverse and dismiss the delinquency petitions with prejudice.

FACTS

J.G.B. is a Native American girl who was bom on December 31,1971. At the time of the offenses set forth in the three juvenile delinquency petitions, she was 16 years old. J.G.B. is a victim of sexual abuse by her grandfather and has a history of severe chemical dependency.

A juvenile delinquency petition filed in St. Louis County on April 20, 1988 alleged that J.G.B. sold a small amount of marijua *868 na to another juvenile allegedly constituting a felony. This offense was committed on February 14,1988. The petition for this offense was refiled on August 22, 1988.

Another juvenile delinquency petition was filed on July 18, 1988 in Carlton County. This petition alleged that J.G.B. was severely intoxicated on July 12, 1988 and allegedly resisted arrest, committed criminal damage to a police car, two misdemean- or fifth degree assaults in kicking and fighting with police officers and felonious terroristic threats by threatening police officers. The venue of this petition was subsequently transferred to St. Louis County.

A third delinquency petition was filed in St. Louis County on August 3, 1988 alleging that J.G.B. committed arson in the first degree by lighting a fire in a motel room. This offense occurred on May 19, 1988.

J.G.B. had been placed with her paternal grandmother through a dependency neglect file. J.G.B. ran away from her grandmother’s house on March 24, 1988 and was a runaway until her arrest in Carlton County on July 12, 1988. After her arrest in Carlton County, J.G.B. was placed in a chemical dependency treatment program at Moose Lake, Minnesota, through the dependency neglect file. J.G.B. was discharged from the chemical dependency treatment program at Moose Lake on August 17, 1988 and remained in detention at the Arrowhead Juvenile Center until her preliminary hearing on the three delinquency petitions on September 7, 1988.

On September 7,1988, J.G.B. appeared in St. Louis County Court in Hibbing and entered a denial to all allegations in the three delinquency petitions. At this time, the St. Louis County prosecutor stated that he was thinking about referring J.G.B. for adult prosecution. The juvenile court stated that a referral petition could still be brought because denials or admissions had not been entered. A pre-trial hearing was set for September 13, 1988.

On September 9, 1988, a motion for reference on all three files was signed by the St. Louis County attorney and filed with the clerk of court. However, no formal notice of this motion was provided to J.G.B. or her counsel until September 13, 1988. At the pre-trial on September 13, 1988, J.G.B. objected to the timeliness of the filing of the motion for reference. Counsel for J.G.B. continued to state that his client had a right to have a trial on the allegations of the three petitions within thirty days of her denial pursuant to Rule 27.02 of the Juvenile Courts. The trial court set a reference hearing for September 29,1988 and ordered that a reference study, a psychological evaluation, and a chemical dependency evaluation be done.

A contested reference hearing was held on September 29, 1988. A St. Louis County probation officer, Glenn Jackola, stated that he believed that J.G.B. was unamena-ble to treatment based on the fact that she has been involved in numerous treatment programs, all of which have been unsuccessful. Jackola also stated that he did not have experience with chemical dependency issues and that he was not a certified chemical dependency counselor.

William Morrison testified on behalf of J.G.B. Morrison has extensive background regarding Native American youth, chemical dependency, and sexual abuse. Morrison testified that he believed J.G.B. was amenable to treatment through a special program in Brainerd geared toward Native American youths. Morrison had been at the September 13, 1988 hearing and went into great detail about this program. The trial court, at that time, stated that it was willing to give J.G.B. the chance to enter the Four Winds Adolescent Treatment Program at the Brainerd State Hospital if the St. Louis County prosecutor agreed. However, the St. Louis County prosecutor did not agree, and instead proceeded with the reference petition.

Counsel were given until October 7, 1988 to present written arguments. A hearing for a continuance was also held on this date. The state asked for a continuance of thirty days for any trial of J.G.B. in the *869 juvenile court, if the trial court did not refer her to adult court or if there was an appeal. J.G.B. filed a written response opposing this motion, on the basis that J.G.B. was denied her right to a speedy trial under Minn.RJuv.Cts. 27.02.

On October 12, 1988, an order certifying J.G.B. for adult prosecution was filed. The trial court found that J.G.B. is unamenable to treatment based on her past history in the juvenile system, and that she is a threat to public safety based on her past adjudications of delinquency and that her offenses are becoming more serious. J.G.B. appeals the reference claiming she was denied her right to a speedy trial, that due process was violated when no chemical or psychological evaluations were done, and that the trial court abused its discretion in referring J.G.B. for prosecution in adult court.

ISSUE

Were J.G.B.’s rights under Minn.R.Juv. Cts. 27.02 and the constitutional provision requiring a speedy trial violated?

ANALYSIS

J.G.B. had been in custody since August 17,1988. She was arraigned on September 7, 1988, at which time she denied the allegations in the three juvenile petitions for delinquency, and requested her right to a speedy trial.

It is clear that J.G.B.’s right to a speedy trial did not begin until she denied the allegations of the three juvenile petitions on September 7, 1988. See Matter of Welfare of J.D.P., 410 N.W.2d 1, 2 (Minn.Ct.App.1987), pet. for rev. granted (Minn. Sept. 23, 1987), appeal dismissed (Minn. Nov. 18, 1987). More significantly, a trial to determine if the allegations of the petition are proved, was required within thirty days from the date of the denial of the allegations, because J.G.B. was in detention at the time of the arraignment. Minn.R. Juv.Cts. 27.02, subd. 1(a). This rule does not allow any continuance for the commencement of a trial for a detained child, as contrasted to the provision for a child not in detention which allows a trial to be continued upon a showing of “good cause.” Minn.R.Juv.Cts. 27.02, subd. 1(a) and (b). From the clear language of the rule, the three petitions for delinquency in this case should have been dismissed on October 8, 1988, because a trial was not commenced within thirty days as required. See Minn. RJuv.Cts.

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Bluebook (online)
443 N.W.2d 867, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 908, 1989 WL 90470, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-welfare-of-jgb-minnctapp-1989.