In Re the Welfare of K.J.K.

357 N.W.2d 117
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJanuary 4, 1985
DocketC7-84-800, CX-84-824
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 357 N.W.2d 117 (In Re the Welfare of K.J.K.) 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 K.J.K., 357 N.W.2d 117 (Mich. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

LANSING, Judge.

K.J.K. appeals from two juvenile court orders referring him for prosecution as an adult as provided by Minn.Stat. § 260.125, subd. 2(d) (Supp.1983), for the offenses of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and felonious possession of stolen property. K.J.K. contends that (1) the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is not suitable for treatment in the juvenile system, and (2) prosecution as an adult would violate the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. We affirm.

FACTS

On October 14, 1983, a delinquency petition charging K.J.K. with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.55, subd. 2 (1982), and a motion to refer him for prosecution as an adult were filed in Koochiching County Court. According to the petition, K.J.K. admitted taking an automobile from Williston, North Dakota, and driving it to International Falls, Minnesota. At the time of this offense K.J.K. was 17 years and 5 months old.

On October 28, 1983, the juvenile court held a hearing on the reference motion, during which K.J.K.’s probation officer, Dennis Maloney, testified. Maloney said that he had supervised K.J.K. for four years and concluded that K.J.K. had exhausted the resources of the juvenile correction system. The court ordered K.J.K. to enter in-patient chemical dependency treatment and also verbally ordered the reference hearing continued until the treatment was completed.

The court erroneously filed an order on this date adjudicating K.J.K. delinquent for the offense charged. That error was discovered and corrected on November 14, 1983, when the court issued an amended order continuing the reference hearing and deleting the adjudication of delinquency.

Three days after the initial hearing a delinquency petition was filed in Beltrami County Juvenile Court charging K.J.K. with attempting to procure an alcoholic beverage while under age 19. The matter was referred to the Koochiching County Juvenile Court for disposition.

In November 1983 K.J.K. entered a chemical dependency program at Central Mesabi Treatment Center. He completed the in-patient portion and was discharged to a halfway house in Duluth for a 30-day program, which he failed to complete. Another reference hearing was held on February 15, 1984, at which K.J.K. stated his intention to move to Iron Mountain to live with a woman he had met during treatment at Central Mesabi. The court took the motion under advisement. K.J.K. was returned to his mother’s home.

On April 6, 1984, a Koochiching County deputy sheriff discovered K.J.K. asleep in a running car parked along Highway 53. The car contained stolen power tools. Another delinquency petition was filed on April 9 charging K.J.K. with felonious possession of stolen property in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.52, subd. 2(1) (1982), along *119 with a motion to refer him for prosecution as an adult. At the time of this offense appellant was 17 years and 11 months old.

On April 9 the juvenile court signed an order referring K.J.K. for prosecution as an adult in connection with the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge. On May 1, after another reference hearing in which Maloney again testified, the court issued a similar order regarding the felonious possession charge. Both orders are the subject of this appeal.

ISSUES

1. Did the juvenile court err in referring appellant for prosecution as an adult on the ground that he is not suitable for treatment in the juvenile system?

2. Did jeopardy attach after the reference hearing when the juvenile court mistakenly entered an order adjudicating appellant delinquent rather than restating the court’s verbal order for a continuance?

ANALYSIS

I

K.J.K. contends the juvenile court’s decision to refer him for adult prosecution was an abuse of discretion because the State did not sustain its burden of showing he is not suitable for treatment in the juvenile system. In a reference proceeding the State has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the child is not suitable for treatment as a juvenile or that public safety will not be served by retaining the child in the juvenile system. Minn.Stat. § 260.125, subd. 2(d) (Supp. 1983); Minn.R.PJuv.Cts. 32.05, subd. 2. Minn.Stat. § 260.125, subd. 3 (1982), lists a number of “prima facie” cases where the child is not suitable or the public is not served by treatment in the juvenile system. If none of these circumstances exist, the court must consider the totality of the circumstances. Minn.R.PJuv.Cts. 32.05, subd. 2. The court has broad discretion in determining whether a juvenile is suitable for treatment in the juvenile system, and its decision will not be overturned unless it is clearly erroneous. In re Welfare of Hartung, 304 N.W.2d 621, 624 (Minn.1981); In re Welfare of I.O.S., 309 Minn. 78, 86-87, 244 N.W.2d 30, 38 (1976).

Juvenile Court Record

The record shows that K.J.K. has had the following contacts with the juvenile system in addition to the offenses described above:

In 1978, at age 12, he was placed in a county-operated group home in International Falls for forging checks.

In February 1980 he was adjudicated delinquent and placed in a foster home after being charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.55, subd. 2, and burglary in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.58, subd. 2(3).

Approximately one week later K.J.K. and another boy took another vehicle without permission. K.J.K. was then placed in a group home called Frontier Farm. While visiting his parents in June 1980 he broke into a neighbor’s home and removed a tape player and five bottles of beer. He was not charged for these offenses.

In September 1980 he was placed in foster care, where he remained until February 1981. At that time he and some other foster children ran away, and he was subsequently adjudicated delinquent for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and burglary and placed in a 90-day program at Thistle Dew Camp.

Just before his graduation from Thistle Dew Camp K.J.K. was involved in a theft from a public campground and ordered to complete another 90-day program at Thistle Dew. He returned to his mother’s home in September 1981.

In July 1982 he was adjudicated delinquent for a violation of the open bottle law, Minn.Stat. § 169.122 (1982), and ordered to complete a 40-hour work service program. In October 1982 he was charged with misdemeanor theft of gasoline and fishing tackle, but court records do not indicate the disposition of this matter.

*120 In January 1983 he was adjudicated delinquent for illegal consumption of alcohol, careless driving, and obstruction of legal process. He was again ordered to complete a work service program that was stayed on the condition that he attend school regularly and complete an out-patient chemical dependency treatment program.

In February 1983 he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

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Bluebook (online)
357 N.W.2d 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-welfare-of-kjk-minnctapp-1985.