In the Interest Of: Mf v. The State of Wyoming

2013 WY 104, 308 P.3d 854, 2013 WL 4746749, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 109
Wyoming Supreme Court·Decided September 4, 2013·No. S-13-0074·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

HILL, Justice.

[¶1] Shortly before his sixteenth birth day, MF was adjudicated a "child in need of supervision," pursuant to the Wyoming Child in Need of Supervision Act (CHINS Act). After two probation violations, and four months before MF's seventeenth birthday, the juvenile court issued an order requiring that MF remain in the custody of the Department of Family Services (DFS) and on probation until his eighteenth birthday. MF appeals the juvenile court order, contending that any CHINS order must terminate when the child turns seventeen. We agree, and we reverse and vacate the court's order to the extent the order purports to have effect be-youd MF's seventeenth birthday.

ISSUE

[¶2] MF states the issue as follows:

1. Whether the Trial Court exceeded its authority when it ordered jurisdiction, without consent of the minor child, in a Child In Need Of Supervision proceeding until his eighteenth birthday.

FACTS

[¶3] MF was born on June 25, 1996. On March 28, 2012, when MF was fifteen, the State of Wyoming filed a petition alleging that MF was a child in need of supervision and requesting that the juvenile court assume jurisdiction over the custody and control of MF. The grounds asserted in support of the CHINS petition were school truancy, school disciplinary actions, and conduct at home. A hearing was held on the CHINS petition on May 16, 2012, and during that hearing, MF admitted the allegations against him and admitted that he was a child in need of supervision. The juvenile court then adjudged MF a child in need of supervision and ordered him placed on juvenile probation for six months.

[¶4] On August 17, 2012, the State filed a petition to revoke MEF"s probation asserting that MF had violated the terms of his probation by violating summer school rules and being expelled from summer school, by being noncompliant with home rules and being continually verbally abusive to his mother, and by failing to maintain contact with his probation officer. The juvenile court held a hearing on the State's revocation petition on September 11, 2012, and MF, pursuant to a plea agreement with the State, admitted to the revocation allegations. In response, the court revoked MF's probation and ordered that MF be placed in a local group home and complete one year of supervised probation.

[¶5] On January 28, 2013, the State filed a second petition to revoke MF's probation asserting that MF had violated the terms of his probation by violating rules of the local group home, violating school rules, being physically violent, and failing to cooperate with therapy. MF admitted to violating the terms of his probation. The juvenile court thereafter revoked MF'"s probation, and it *857 further ordered that MF remain in DFS custody, that he be placed at Normative Services, Inc., a residential treatment program in Sheridan, Wyoming, and that he remain on probation until his eighteenth birthday. MF timely appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶6] MP's jurisdictional challenge to the juvenile court's order presents a question of statutory interpretation. Statutory interpretation is a question of law that this Court reviews de movo. Rock v. Lankford, 2013 WY 61, ¶ 17, 301 P.3d 1075, 1080 (Wyo.2013); In re DCP, 2001 WY 77, ¶ 7, 30 P.3d 29, 30 (Wyo.2001). Jurisdictional issues are also questions of law that we review de novo. DeLoge v. Homar, 2013 WY 33, ¶ 10, 297 P.3d 117, 120 (Wyo.2013).

DISCUSSION

[¶7] The juvenile court held that it had statutory authority to issue a CHINS order that continued in effect beyond MF's seventeenth birthday. Specifically, the court issued an order that gave DFS legal custody of MF and imposed probationary conditions on MF until he was eighteen years of age. MF argues that the court's order exceeded its authority under the CHINS Act, contending that the court's jurisdiction over a child in need of supervision ends when the child reaches the age of seventeen. We agree. 1

[¶8] We interpret the governing provisions of the CHINS Act in accordance with our rules of statutory interpretation:

In interpreting statutes, our primary consideration is to determine the legislature's intent. All statutes must be construed in pari materia and, in ascertaining the meaning of a given law, all statutes relating to the same subject or having the same general purpose must be considered and construed in harmony. Statutory construction is a question of law, so our standard of review is de novo. We endeavor to interpret statutes in accordance with the legislature's intent. We begin by making an inquiry respecting the ordinary and obvious meaning of the words employed according to their arrangement and connection. We construe the statute as a whole, giving effect to every word, clause, and sentence, and we construe all parts of the statute in pari materia. When a statute is sufficiently clear and unambiguous, we give effect to the plain and ordinary meaning of the words and do not resort to the rules of statutory construction. Moreover, we must not give a statute a meaning that will nullify its operation if it is susceptible of another interpretation.
Moreover, we will not enlarge, stretch, expand, or extend a statute to matters that do not fall within its express provisions.
Only if we determine the language of a statute is ambiguous will we proceed to the next step, which involves applying general principles of statutory construction to the language of the statute in order to construe any ambiguous language to accurately reflect the intent of the legislature. If this Court determines that the language of the statute is not ambiguous, there is no room for further construction. We will apply the language of the statute using its ordinary and obvious meaning.
Whether a statute is ambiguous is a question of law. A statute is unambiguous if reasonable persons are able to agree as to its meaning with consistency and predictability, while a statute is ambiguous if it is vague or uncertain and subject to varying interpretations.

Rock, ¶ 20, 301 P.3d at 1080-81 (quoting Redco Const. v. Profile Props., LLC, 2012 WY 24, ¶ 26, 271 P.3d 408, 415-16 (Wyo.2012)).

[¶9] The dispute in this appeal centers on interpretation of the CHINS Act *858 provision governing the duration of CHINS orders. The Act specifies:

Unless sooner terminated by court order, all orders issued under this act shall terminate with respect to a child adjudicated in need of supervision when he reaches seventeen (17) years of age. If the child is still in the custody of the department upon attaining the age of seventeen (17) years, services may be provided on a case by case basis.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-6-481(b) (LexisNexis 20183).

[¶10] MF focuses his argument on the provision's first sentence, which states in plain terms that all CHINS orders expire when the adjudicated child reaches seventeen years of age. The State, on the other hand, emphasizes the second sentence, which the State contends acts as an exception to the general rule stated in the first sentence. The State argues that in order to give effect to the second sentence,

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In the Interest Of: Mf v. The State of Wyoming, 2013 WY 104, 308 P.3d 854, 2013 WL 4746749, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 109 (Wyo. 2013).

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In the Interest Of: Mf v. The State of Wyoming
2013 WY 104 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2013)