In the Interest of A.T.K.

717 P.2d 529, 11 Kan. App. 2d 174, 1986 Kan. App. LEXIS 1038
Court of Appeals of Kansas·Decided April 17, 1986·No. No. 58,396·Published

Opinion

Parks, J.:

This appeal presents an issue regarding the proper venue for the dispositional proceedings in a case involving a juvenile offender.

Respondent A.T.K., Jr., was adjudicated a juvenile offender in Johnson County in August 1984. The adjudicating court went on to render disposition in the matter and the respondent appealed contending that venue for the disposition did not lie in Johnson [175] County. On appeal, this court held, in an unpublished opinion, that respondent’s residence for the purposes of K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 38-1605 was in Franklin County and that disposition outside the county could be allowed “only upon motion by the complainant or another person authorized to appeal.” Opinion No. 57,405, filed May 31, 1985. The court vacated the judgment of disposition and remanded the matter for further action. The court further directed that if a motion were filed pursuant to 38-1605(c), the district court should hear the motion and make an appropriate finding as to the best interests of the child. On remand, the required motion was filed and the court found that A.T.K., Jr., “has and is now progressing in the structured program at the Youth Center at Topeka, and it is in the Respondent’s best interests to complete the program.” Respondent once again appeals, contending that the district court erred in granting the State’s motion and rendering disposition in Johnson County.

The administration of cases brought under the juvenile offenders code is divided into two stages — the adjudicatory stage and the dispositional stage. Venue for adjudicatory proceedings lies in the county in which the act of the alleged offense was committed. K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 38-1605(a). By contrast, venue for dispositional proceedings is governed by the following provisions:

“(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), venue for dispositional proceedings in any case involving a juvenile alleged to be a juvenile offender shall be in the county of the juvenile’s residence or, if the juvenile is not a resident of this state, in the county where the alleged offense was committed. When the dispositional hearing is to be held in a county other than the county where the alleged offense was committed, the adjudicating judge shall transmit the record of the adjudicatory hearing, and recommendations as to disposition, to the court where the dispositional hearing is to be held.
“(c) If the adjudicatory hearing is held in a county other than the county of the juvenile’s residence, the dispositional hearing may be held in the county in which the adjudicatory hearing is held if the adjudicating judge, upon motion by the complainant or any person authorized to appeal, finds that it is in the best interests of the juvenile offender and the community that the dispositional hearing be held in the county where the act was committed.” (Emphasis added.) K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 38-1605(b) and (c).

The divergence in the statutory treatment of venue for the two stages of a juvenile offender proceeding reflects the differences in the purpose of the procedural stages. The adjudicatory phase of the proceeding is concerned with whether there is proof that [176] the juvenile committed the charged offense. K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 38-1655. Accordingly, the adjudicatory hearing should be held in the county in which the evidence bearing on that proof is most likely to be found. On the other hand, the dispositional phase of the proceedings is directed to securing for the juvenile “the care, custody, guidance, control and discipline, preferably in the juvenile’s own home, as will best serve the juvenile’s rehabilitation and the protection of society.” K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 38-1601. Thus, the provisions of K.S.A. 1985 Supp. 38-1605(b) and (c) reflect the legislative conclusion that the information to make a disposition appropriate to carry out this goal is most likely to be found in the juvenile’s resident county. It is only when the adjudicating judge finds that “it is in the best interests of the juvenile offender and the community that the dispositional hearing be held in the county where the act was committed” that the venue may properly lie outside the juvenile’s resident county. Therefore, the statute contemplates that the adjudicating court will engage in a separate and distinct level of deliberation on the propriety of the venue before engaging in any consideration of the proper disposition to be imposed on a nonresident juvenile.

It was determined in the earlier appeal of this case that the respondent’s residence is in Franklin County. For the Johnson County District Court in which respondent was adjudicated to be a juvenile offender to also be the locus of the dispositional decision, the court had to find that it would be in the best interests of the juvenile and community for it to impose disposition. No such finding was made; the court simply found that the disposition imposed earlier continued to be in the juvenile’s best interests. Therefore, in the absence of such a finding, the district court’s retention of venue for the purposes of disposition was erroneous.

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In the Interest of A.T.K., 717 P.2d 529, 11 Kan. App. 2d 174, 1986 Kan. App. LEXIS 1038 (kanctapp 1986).

717 P.2d 529 (In the Interest of A.T.K.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

§ 1985
Kansas § 1985