State ex rel. T.S.

900 So. 2d 77, 4 La.App. 5 Cir. 1111, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 477
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided March 1, 2005·No. No. 04-KA-1111·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

|,MARION F. EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant, T.S., appeals her sentence in Juvenile Court for the Parish of Jefferson.

On April 27, 2004, the State filed a petition charging T.S. with simple battery (“EE” charge), in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:35. A subsequent petition was filed on May 24, 2004, charging T.S. with two counts of forgery (“GG” and “HH” charges), in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:72(A) and 14:72(B). Following a hearing, T.S. was adjudicated delinquent of simple battery on June 2, 2004. However, on June 23, 2004, the State amended the “GG” and “HH” charges of the petition to two counts of attempted theft valued between $300 and $500 in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:27; 14:67. T.S. entered an admission to the theft charges.

At the disposition hearing on August 5, 2004, T.S. was committed to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Youth Development for a period of six months on the simple battery charge (“EE” charge) and a period of one year on each' attempted theft charge (“GG” and “HH” charges), to run concurrently. At the disposition, counsel for T.S. gave notice of his intent to appeal and moved for her to remain in her mother’s custody awaiting the appeal. The court granted this request, and this timely appeal follows.

|3On April 21, 2004, K. M., T. S.’s mother, called the sheriffs office after she was struck by her daughter. She testified that T.S became upset after she told her friend, B.C., to leave and commented to T.S. that she did not want the friend in her house. According to K. M., T.S. was out of control, and broke the cordless phone by slamming it onto the ground. T.S. threatened to cause damage to their home and to her car, and repeatedly struck her in the arm, nudged her leg and stepped on her foot. The mother claimed she never struck T.S. KM.’s boyfriend had to restrain T.S., at which time T.S. tried to hit him. After that, the police were called.

In court, T.S. claimed she became upset because her mother was cursing at her friend, arguing with her friend’s grandmother and threatening to call the police. She admitted to hitting her mother a couple of times. Although she stated that her mother hit her too, she acknowledged that she struck her mother first. The court decided T.S. had committed a simple battery and, thereafter, the child and mother argued amongst themselves in the courtroom. K.M. indicated that although T.S. was under “house arrest”, she left the house after the family went to sleep. She stated that T.S. threatened to “beat the hell out of me when we get home,” and declared that the child needed to go to jail [79] or to a facility. After continued argument, T.S. was ordered to go to Rivarde Detention Home for continued custody pending disposition.

On June 23, 2004, T.S. pled guilty to the attempted theft charges after stealing checks from Mark Foret, her mother’s boyfriend, filling the checks out for an amount within $500, and trying unsuccessfully to cash them.

The disposition hearing was held on August 5, 2004. The probation report read by the trial court recommended that T.S. be sentenced to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections in order for her to be placed in a secure facility. The probation officer who prepared the report, Roberta Brown, testified that she had |4not interviewed the victims in this matter and was not aware that the victims did not want T.S. to go to jail. After the probation officer was made aware of the wishes of the victims and it was explained that, since being released from Rivarde, T.S. had no further violations or new arrests, Brown testified that these new facts would not change her mind. Brown supported her opinion by stating that T.S. had an extensive history with the juvenile system. Further, T.S’s case was staffed with the Correctional Options Program and she was found not suitable due to her mother’s inability to work with the Department of Juvenile Services.

K.M. testified as the victim to the simple battery charge, and stated that she and her daughter have had their problems in the past; however, T.S. had been home for over a month and although they had a few typical teenage problems, there had been no physical confrontations. K.M. believed she had gotten to the “stem” of some of the problems and discovered things that T.S.’s therapist and probation officers knew and about which she was not previously informed. She further testified that her daughter no- longer associated with the friend she had gotten into trouble with. She stressed that she did not want to see her child go to jail over the incident, and stated that she does cooperate, with the department, but does “butt heads” with them. She often visited T.S. and went to all meetings. K.M became upset at the disposition hearing and was threatened several times with contempt.

Mark Foret, the victim of the attempted theft charges, likewise testified that he did not want T.S. to be incarcerated.

The court committed T.S. to the custody of the Department of Public Safety Corrections, Office of'Youth Development, for a period of six months on the simple battery charge (“EE” charge) and a period of one year on each attempted theft charge (“GG” and “HH” charges), to run concurrently.

IfiOn appeal, T.S. contends that the trial court erred in committing her to six months concurrent with one year to the Department of Corrections, as the sentence was not the least restrictive alternative considering the circumstances of the case, the child’s needs and the best interest of society, and such sentence was excessive.

Art. I, Sec. 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 prohibits “cruel, excessive, or unusual punishment.” Where excessive commitment is complained of in juvenile proceedings, the record must be reviewed to determine whether the juvenile court imposed the least restrictive disposition consistent with the circumstances of the cáse, the child’s needs, and the best interest of society.1 Much discretion is granted [80] to the court in juvenile matters because of the special nature of the proceedings, but the court must balance the needs of the child with the best interest of society.2

In committing T.S. to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Youth Development, the judge determined that to allow T.S. to remain in her home would be contrary to her welfare and not in her best interest. The judge further provided the following:

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State ex rel. T.S., 900 So. 2d 77, 4 La.App. 5 Cir. 1111, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 477 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

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