Opinion ID: 1175729
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Challenged Classification

Text: At the time of his arrest defendant was 19 years of age. The court was accordingly authorized by section 1731.5 to exercise its discretion and commit him to the Youth Authority. [3] Section 1731.5 operates to divide one class of individuals, persons convicted of a public offense, into two groups. Of the entire class of persons who suffer such a conviction, only those who were under 21 years of age at the time of their apprehension and are otherwise eligible may be committed to the Youth Authority. The remainder of the class, persons 21 years of age and older, may be subjected to only the normal range of dispositional alternatives. However, the sub-class of individuals who may be committed to the Youth Authority is more circumscribed than simply persons under 21 years of age. Since juveniles must be at least 16 years of age before they can be referred to the criminal courts for prosecution and thereafter suffer conviction of a public offense (§ 707), [4] the sub-class of persons who may be committed to the Youth Authority by reason of section 1731.5 is limited to individuals between the ages of 16 and 21 years. [5] In order to understand how section 1731.5 results in a denial of equal protection to youthful misdemeanants such as defendant, it is necessary to compare the maximum period of incarceration which may be imposed under the Penal Code with the period permitted upon commitment to the Youth Authority. Once a person is committed pursuant to section 1731.5, the Youth Authority is directed to retain that individual, except as otherwise lawfully provided, under supervision and control so long as in its judgment such control is necessary for the protection of the public. (§ 1765, subd. (a). [6] ) In the case of misdemeanants, control by the Authority is limited to a period of two years or until the person reaches his 23d birthday, whichever occurs later (§ 1770 [7] ), unless an order for further detention is made pursuant to sections 1800-1803. [8] In defendant's case, the maximum period of incarceration in an institution of the Youth Authority permitted by virtue of section 1770 is in excess of 3 years since he was 19 years of age at the time of his arrest and conviction. In contrast, the maximum permissible jail term which could have been imposed on defendant as a result of his misdemeanor conviction was six months. (Pen. Code, § 241.) Had defendant been sentenced to and served the maximum possible jail term, his incarceration would have terminated months ago. [9] Because of his commitment to the Youth Authority, defendant remains incarcerated, facing a potential period of confinement several times longer than the longest jail term which might have been imposed. [10] The inequity of this situation is further highlighted when one considers that if another adult 21 years of age had taken part in the same assault which resulted in defendant's conviction, had been similarly convicted, and had then been sentenced to the maximum period of incarceration permitted in his case, that person would have been freed many months ago. Moreover, the instant case is not some isolated example of unequal treatment which has resulted only in defendant's case. Even when a youthful offender is convicted of a misdemeanor with a maximum permissible jail term of one year, commitment to the Youth Authority results, at the very least, in a doubling of the possible period of incarceration due to the two-year provision of section 1770. To reiterate, our analysis has shown that section 1731.5 by its own terms affects a specifically designated class of individuals, persons convicted of a public offense. It divides that class into two groups and creates a sentencing scheme whereby those misdemeanants between the ages of 16 and 21 years of age are singled out for potentially longer terms of incarceration than all other misdemeanants. Furthermore, the duration of such extended incarceration is not insignificant; it may range anywhere from twice up to 28 times as long as the maximum permissible jail sentence; in terms of actual time, the length of confinement can be increased in some cases by over 6 years. Recognition of this disparity mandates that we re-emphasize the reasons why section 1731.5 applies to youthful misdemeanants in the first place. It is because such persons have been prosecuted as adults, adjudged by the same standards which apply to any competent adult, and convicted as adults in adult courts. [11] Yet, despite the fact that they are treated in the same manner as any competent adult during the process which results in their convictions, such persons may be subjected to significantly greater terms of incarceration as a result of those convictions solely by reason of their age. We have concluded that such a sentencing scheme constitutes a denial of equal protection in violation of article I, section 7, of the California Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. [12] We next discuss the considerations which have led us to our conclusion.