People v. D.B. (In re D.B.)

233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 885, 24 Cal. App. 5th 252
California Court of Appeal, 5th District·Decided June 6, 2018·No. A149815·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

Schulman, J.**

*886*254In this appeal, D.B. (Minor) challenges dispositional orders issued on May 2, 2016, and on September 7, 2016, continuing him as a ward of the court. Minor contends the juvenile court erred in the September 7, 2016 order by adding a new probation condition allowing searches of his electronic devices and requiring him to disclose all necessary passwords. Additionally, Minor contends the juvenile court erred by including in the written versions of both orders probation conditions that appeared to require his parents to reimburse the county for his legal fees, although the juvenile court judge did not include those conditions in orally pronouncing the dispositions. We agree that the electronics search condition was constitutionally overbroad and we, therefore, strike it. In the published portion of this opinion, we reject Minor's second challenge, because we do not interpret the May 2, 2016 dispositional order or the September 7, 2016 dispositional order as imposing a reimbursement obligation on Minor's parents. We also conclude that a 2017 statutory amendment precludes any future reimbursement order.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND1

On May 5, 2015, Minor, then 15 years old, met with the assistant principal of his high school after falling asleep in class. Minor admitted he smoked marijuana the night before but denied having done so on that day. When the assistant principal asked to search him, Minor acquiesced, volunteering that he had a knife. The assistant principal then searched Minor, and found a folding pocket knife with a three-inch blade, rolling papers, and lighters. Minor was arrested, detained, and placed on home detention.

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 7, 2015, the Napa County District Attorney filed a juvenile wardship petition (first petition) under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 alleging that Minor violated Penal Code section 626.10, subdivision (a), a misdemeanor, by bringing a folding, locking knife onto school grounds. On May 11, 2015, Minor admitted the offense and the matter was continued for a dispositional hearing.

On May 29, 2015, Minor was arrested and detained after a sheriff's officer discovered him smoking marijuana in violation of the conditions of his *255release. At the subsequent dispositional hearing, on June 10, 2015, the juvenile court declared Minor to be a ward of the court, placed him on probation, to be served while residing in his mother's home, and imposed various probation conditions, including a prohibition against knowingly using or possessing alcohol or controlled substances, and a requirement that Minor submit to testing that would detect such usage.

Ten months later, in April 2016, the district attorney filed a second wardship petition (second petition), alleging that Minor violated his probation conditions because he tested positive for, and admitted using, marijuana and also tested positive for Xanax. Minor admitted he violated probation. At the dispositional hearing on May 2, 2016, the juvenile court continued his wardship, and allowed him to remain in his mother's home.

Two months later, in July 2016, the district attorney filed a third wardship petition *887(third petition), alleging that Minor violated his probation conditions by failing to attend school on six dates without a valid excuse, using marijuana, and being discharged from a treatment program for noncompliance. On August 8, 2016, the district attorney amended the new petition to add an allegation that Minor admitted using alcohol. On August 10, 2016, Minor admitted violating probation by using marijuana and alcohol and the other alleged violations were dismissed.2

In advance of the September 7, 2016 dispositional hearing, the probation officer reported Minor most recently had tested negative for controlled substances, was doing well in school, and had begun working as a cashier. The treatment program advised probation that Minor was attending all of his groups and "doing very well." Minor's mother told probation she had noticed a positive change in Minor, and Minor himself reported he was more motivated to complete the treatment program and probation. The probation officer observed that Minor appeared "cognizant of his triggers, as he [was] distancing himself from his negative peers." In his disposition report, the probation officer recommended continuing Minor's wardship. The juvenile court agreed and, at the September 7, 2016 disposition hearing, continued Minor as a ward of the court, adopting certain terms and conditions.

*256III. DISCUSSION

A. Electronics Search Condition ***

B. Reimbursement of County Legal Costs

Minor also contends that written orders the juvenile court issued after the dispositional hearings on May 2, 2016 and September 7, 2016 (collectively, the dispositional hearings) must be corrected because they mistakenly included "recommendations" that appear to require his parents to reimburse the county for a combined total of $850 in legal fees, although the juvenile court included no such orders in its oral pronouncements. The Attorney General disagrees that these provisions were mistakes; he contends the provisions were properly included in the written orders and are binding. Even if this were not true, however, the Attorney General asserts: Minor lacks standing to challenge the provisions; he is too late in challenging the May 2016 order and, therefore, has forfeited the right to do so; and his parents are responsible for paying the specified legal fees regardless of whether any order directed them to do so. Alternatively, the Attorney General submits, if the juvenile court's intention regarding imposition of the fees was unclear, this court may remand the matter with a direction that the juvenile court clarify its orders.

We begin by reviewing the record to determine whether the juvenile court in fact ordered Minor's parents to reimburse the county for legal fees.

1. Background

In advance of the May 2, 2016 dispositional hearing on the second petition, the probation officer filed a dispositional report, attaching a page of recommended terms and conditions. The seventh and last set of recommendations involved reimbursement of certain county costs.

*888At the May 2, 2016 dispositional hearing, the juvenile court heard argument on a different issue (i.e., the length of Minor's detention in juvenile hall). The judge then succinctly paraphrased and adopted all of the terms and conditions the probation officer had recommended, making certain modifications, with one exception. The judge did not include the recommended county cost reimbursement terms, and no party raised the omission at the hearing.

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People v. D.B. (In re D.B.), 233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 885, 24 Cal. App. 5th 252 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 885 (People v. D.B. (In re D.B.)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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