S.V. v. Superior Court of Orange Cnty.

221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 298, 13 Cal. App. 5th 1174, 2017 WL 3225044, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 667
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJuly 31, 2017
DocketG053903
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 298 (S.V. v. Superior Court of Orange Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
S.V. v. Superior Court of Orange Cnty., 221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 298, 13 Cal. App. 5th 1174, 2017 WL 3225044, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 667 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

MOORE, J.

*1176I

INTRODUCTION

Under separation of powers principles, when the Legislature has enacted a statute with limited exceptions, courts may not add additional exceptions. (See Cal. Const., art. III, § 3.) In 2014, the Legislature enacted a statute that generally requires a juvenile court to seal a minor's confidential delinquency file following a dismissal. The court cannot later unseal and release information in the file to others, except in eight limited circumstances for certain designated parties (e.g., the probation department). ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 786, subds. (a)(1), (f)(1)(A)-(H).)1 A third party criminal defendant is not one of the designated parties under the eight statutory exceptions.

Here, a juvenile court dismissed a delinquency petition and sealed the minor's records. A criminal defendant later filed a request for disclosure of the minor's sealed records. Defendant is charged with the pimping, pandering, and human trafficking of the minor; she is likely to be a witness at defendant's upcoming trial. The juvenile court reviewed the minor's sealed *1177file and ordered that a redacted portion of the file be released to defendant (under procedures appropriate to confidential , rather than sealed files). The minor filed a petition for writ of mandate to stop that release.

We grant the petition and order the juvenile court not to release any information from the minor's sealed file. The Legislature has created no exception for the release of information from a sealed juvenile delinquency file to a third party criminal defendant; courts cannot create such an exception. Defendant argues that his inability to access the minor's sealed file may compromise his discovery rights and his right to effectively cross-examine the minor, but we are in no position to speculate on those matters. We anticipate that the trial court will make whatever rulings may be necessary to protect defendant's statutory and constitutional rights.

II

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In August 2015, Santa Ana police made contact with S.V. (petitioner and minor) and Isaiah Rene Harris (real party in interest and defendant) during a traffic stop.

*301In September 2015, the district attorney filed a felony complaint charging Harris with the pimping, the pandering, and the human trafficking of S.V., a minor over 16 years of age. ( Pen. Code, §§ 266h, subd. (b), 266i, subds. (a)(1) & (b)(1), 236.1, subd. (c).) The complaint further alleged Harris had two prior "strike" convictions and one "prison" prior. ( Pen. Code, §§ 667, subd. (d), 1170.12, subd. (b), 667.5, subd. (b).) Based on phone calls Harris allegedly made while in jail, the district attorney later filed an amended complaint adding two additional crimes: conspiring to dissuade S.V. from testifying as a witness against him and persuading another person to become a prostitute (pandering). ( Pen. Code, §§ 136.1, subd. (c), 266i, subd. (a).)

In September 2015, the district attorney also filed a juvenile petition charging S.V. with the misdemeanor offense of making false statements to a police officer. ( Pen. Code, § 148.9.) A prosecutor said that "as a general matter in this county we don't charge juveniles with prostitution if we have a good faith belief that they have a pimp because by definition we think that makes them a human trafficking victim and pursuant to Evidence Code section 1161 there is no admissible evidence to hold them accountable for that *1178conduct."2 As far as charging S.V. with making false statements, the prosecutor said that his purpose was to "bring [S.V.] back into Orange County so that we can protect her." The juvenile court placed S.V. on an informal program of supervision and assigned her to a specialized court, Generate Resources to Abolish Child Exploitation (GRACE). (§ 654.2.) A little over six months later, the court dismissed the charge and ordered S.V.'s records sealed. ( §§ 782, 786.)

In August 2016, Harris filed a request for disclosure of information from S.V.'s juvenile dependency and juvenile delinquency files.3 (§ 827, subd. (a)(1)(P).) Harris requested: "The juvenile case file information regarding Petitions filed regarding the minor, the status and/or disposition of any Petitions regarding the minor." Harris stated that: "The records are necessary for use at jury trial in the matter in which the minor is the alleged victim."

S.V. received notice and filed an objection to the release of information from her juvenile case file. (§ 827, subd. (a)(1)(P).) S.V. argued that her juvenile delinquency records had been ordered sealed by the juvenile court under section 827 and there was no applicable exception under that section allowing for their release.

The juvenile court conducted a hearing. Harris's attorney stated that: "During the course of law enforcement's contact with the minor she provides what is ultimately determined to be false information to the police officer and so that is all contained within the police report under the [report] number that pertains to Mr. Harris's criminal matter." Harris's attorney argued that criminal defendants have a "constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against them, to have competent counsel who is able to investigate all potential defenses, which includes credibility of any witnesses ... so in that context I am asking for the court to disclose any delinquency petitions that were filed as to *302the minor" and "any statements contained within that file ... with regards to the incidents" involving Harris. The attorney further requested any "minutes or procedural history of how that matter was handled." The prosecutor joined in Harris's request and indicated that he intended to call S.V. as a witness at Harris's upcoming trial.

The juvenile court ruled that it had an obligation to review the files for exculpatory information bearing on S.V.'s veracity. The court ordered disclosure of S.V.'s delinquency file after "appropriate redaction" and "with a *1179protective order." However, the court stayed the actual release of the information, allowing S.V. the time necessary to file a writ.

S.V. filed a petition for writ of mandate to stop the release of information from her sealed juvenile delinquency file. This court stayed the juvenile court's order and issued an alternative writ of mandate. We ordered the court to set aside and vacate its order, or in the alternative, to show cause why a peremptory writ of mandate should not issue. The juvenile court did not comply. Harris, as real party in interest, filed a return. The district attorney sent a letter to this court stating that: "The People take no position on the Petition for Writ of Mandate."

III

DISCUSSION

Ordinarily, an order to release juvenile court records is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. ( In re Jeffrey T. (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 1015

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 298, 13 Cal. App. 5th 1174, 2017 WL 3225044, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 667, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sv-v-superior-court-of-orange-cnty-calctapp5d-2017.