W.L.A. v. State

2002 OK CR 38, 60 P.3d 1043, 2002 WL 31712500
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 4, 2002
DocketNos. J-2002-875, J-2002-874
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2002 OK CR 38 (W.L.A. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
W.L.A. v. State, 2002 OK CR 38, 60 P.3d 1043, 2002 WL 31712500 (Okla. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

[1045]*1045 ACCELERATED DOCKET ORDER

¶ 1 On February 11, 2002, W.L.A. and J.L.W. were charged as Youthful Offenders in Oklahoma County District Court Case No. CF-2002-765 with the following crimes:

Counts I, II and III — Rape in the First Degree
Counts IV, Y and VI — Kidnapping
Count VII — Robbery with Firearms
Counts VIII (W.L.A.) and IX (J.L.W.)— Assault while Masked or Disguised
Count X (W.L.A.) — Concealing Stolen Property
Counts XI and XII (W.L.A.) — Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Cocaine and Marijuana)
Count XIII (W.L.A.) — Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle
Count XIV — Attempted Kidnapping
Count XV — Attempted Robbery with Firearms

¶2 On May 30, 2002, the State filed an Amended Information adding the following counts against “W.L.A. acting jointly with an unknown Black male”:

Count XVI (W.L.A.) — Robbery with Firearms
Count XVII (W.L.A.) — Kidnapping
Count XVIII (W.L.A.) — Assault While Masked or Disguised
Count XIX (W.L.A.) — Attempted Robbery with Firearms

Appellants appeal the District Court’s order denying their motions to be certified as juveniles and the District Court’s order granting the State’s motions for imposition of adult sentences.

¶3 Pursuant to Rule 11.2(A)(1), Rules of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Title 22, Ch. 18, App. (2002), this appeal was automatically assigned to the Accelerated Docket of this Court. The propositions of error were presented in oral argument on October 3, 2002, pursuant to Rule 11.2(F). At the conclusion of oral argument, this Court voted to AFFIRM the order of the trial court.

¶ 4 In their first assignment of error, Appellants argue the trial court committed error in failing to rule on their motions to be certified as juveniles before binding them over for trial.

¶ 5 The record reveals that at the preliminary hearing on May 17, 2002, the Honorable Nan J. Patton, Associate District Judge, overruled demurrers to the evidence from both defendants and found probable cause existed for all the counts alleged in the Information. The court then observed that motions to be certified as juveniles, filed by both Appellants, required a hearing to be held before a formal bind-over could occur. Neither defense counsel entered an objection to' the procedure announced by the court.

¶ 6 The next appearance of the parties was June 7, 2002, wherein the motions for juvenile certification were argued. Again, no objections were entered at this hearing by either Appellant. During that hearing, the question was raised by defense counsel as to whether Judge Patton, being the same court hearing the preliminary hearing and ruling on the motions to certify as a juvenile, could also hear and rule on the state’s motions to impose adult sentences. The court took the matter under advisement. At the conclusion of that hearing, the court denied both Appellants’ motions to be certified as juveniles, but made no bind-over order.

¶ 7 The matter was continued to July 2, 2002, and the court entered a bindover order for both Appellants at the beginning of the hearing. At the conclusion of the same hearing, the court granted the State’s motions for imposition of adult sentences for both Appellants.

¶ 8 Appellants argue the trial court erred when it made a finding of probable cause, before entertaining their motions to be certified as juveniles. Appellants equate the court’s finding of probable cause to a defacto bind-over order, and argue that in binding them over for trial, the court lost jurisdiction over the case. In further support of their argument, Appellants cite 10 O.S.2001, § 7306-2.5(D) which provides “the court shall rule on any motions for certification as a youthful offender or juvenile before ruling on whether to bind the accused over for trial.”

¶ 9 The record reveals the trial court did make a finding of probable cause for the charges before hearing the motions to certify as juveniles. The record also reveals the trial court did not bind Appellants over for [1046]*1046trial until after denying their motions to certify. Thus, as required by statute, the trial court ruled on the motions to certify before making any bind-over order. In addition, we reject Appellants’ argument as a non sequi-tur. We find the trial court was correct in making a finding that probable cause existed before proceeding with the motions to certify. Obviously, if the State had not established probable cause, some or all of the • charges would have been dismissed, and there would have been no reason to proceed with the motions to certify. This proposition of error is without merit.

¶ 10 In the second assignment of error, Appellants argue that after binding them over for trial, the court, acting as magistrate, erred in hearing the State’s motion to impose adult sentences, rather than allowing that decision to be made by the trial court.

¶ 11 The procedure utilized by Judge Patton presents an issue of first impression for this Court. Typically, the State of Oklahoma files its motion(s) for imposition of adult sentence no later than thirty (30) days following a defendant’s formal arraignment, pursuant to 10 O.S.2001, § 7306-2.8(A)(l). After that filing is made, a hearing is then scheduled by the trial court to hear the State’s motion. See 10 O.S.2001, § 7306-2.8(B). Once that hearing in concluded, the order certifying or denying certification for imposition of an adult sentence is appealable to this Court. See 10 O.S.2001, § 7306-2.8(E). This procedure often involves delays and takes several months to complete, which is never to a juvenile’s advantage. In that vein, this Court has repeatedly criticized such delays and stressed that time is of the essence and the purpose of the statutory scheme is to accelerate juvenile proceedings. See J.R.L. v. State, 2000 OK CR 26, ¶ 11, 17 P.3d 1041, 1043.

¶ 12 In the case at bar, the State filed its motions for imposition of adult sentences before formal arraignment, indeed, before a bind-over order had even been entered by Judge Patton. Thus, the State’s motions for imposition of adult sentences and Appellants’ motions for certification as juveniles were both pending before Judge Patton before a bind-over order had been entered.1 During her ruling overruling defense counsel’s objections, Judge Patton expressed reservations about passing the State’s motions to another court that had not observed the witnesses and heard the preliminary hearing testimony/evidence.2

¶ 13 The advantages of the procedure utilized in this case are obvious! First, the timeframe for the decision(s) to be made, i.e., certification as a juvenile and/or certification for imposition of adult sentence, is greatly accelerated. This is undoubtedly to the juvenile’s advantage because it increases the chance of having meaningful time remaining for amenability to treatment and/or rehabilitation.

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2006 OK 63 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2002 OK CR 38, 60 P.3d 1043, 2002 WL 31712500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wla-v-state-oklacrimapp-2002.