Opinion ID: 1431569
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Fifth Amendment Claim.

Text: The appellant contends that the confessions relied upon by the trial court in waiving juvenile court jurisdiction were admitted in violation of his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. Due to the posture of the instant proceeding, and to the fact that we are not here concerned with guilt or innocence but rather with appellant's knowledgeability and amenability to juvenile treatment, the fifth amendment claim becomes irrelevant. [5] In Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966), the United States Supreme Court considered the requirements for a valid waiver of exclusive jurisdiction of a juvenile court as a condition to the trial of a juvenile in an adult criminal proceeding. While the Court's decision involved the language of a statute, it stressed the necessity that the basic requirements of due process and fairness be satisfied in such proceedings. Id. at 553, 86 S.Ct. 1045. See In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 30-31, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967). Kent, however, neither expressly nor impliedly extended the fifth amendment right against self-incrimination to waiver hearings. [6] The principles of fundamental fairness govern in fashioning procedures and remedies to serve the best interests of the child. Pee v. United States, 107 U.S. App.D.C. 47, 50, 274 F.2d 556, 559 (D.C. Cir.1959). And, while we recognize that a waiver involves a critically important action, Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. at 553, 86 S.Ct. 1045, the consequence of a certification is not necessarily a condemnation of the accused. Therefore, the informal nature of the waiver hearing which differs from a criminal proceeding, precludes imposition of strict evidentiary standards. The court in a waiver hearing can consider any material, relevant evidence, but fundamental fairness demands that such evidence be founded on accurate and reliable information. People v. Chi Ko Wong, 18 Cal.3d 698, 135 Cal. Rptr. 392, 405-406, 557 P.2d 976, 989-90 (1976). See also State v. Piche, 74 Wash.2d 9, 442 P.2d 632, 635-36 (1968). Because of the unique role of a trial judge in the non-adversary confidential atmosphere of the juvenile court, State v. Loyd, 212 N.W.2d 671, 674 (Minn. 1973), coupled with the fact that the confessions have not yet been sufficiently asserted to be involuntary or unreliable, we find no error. The accused still has access to the panoply of legal and constitutional rights available to adult defendants, including trial by jury. This is not, at least at present, a case involving the admissibility, in a state criminal proceeding, of an inadmissible confession. Cf. Haley v. Ohio, 332 U.S. 596, 68 S.Ct. 302, 92 L.Ed. 224 (1948) (unreasonable police conduct in obtaining confession violated due process); A Minor v. State, 89 Nev. 564, 517 P.2d 183 (1973) (unreasonable police tactics violated juvenile's fourth amendment rights). A juvenile waiver or transfer hearing is nonadjudicatory in that no inquiry is made into the guilt or innocence of the juvenile. The sole inquiry at such a hearing is to determine whether the interests of the juvenile and of society would be better served by subsequent adjudication in the juvenile or adult court system. Once a child commits an offense, he is in effect exempt from the criminal law unless the juvenile court waives its jurisdiction. During that period, the juvenile code governs and, irrespective of In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967), In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970), and McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528, 91 S.Ct. 1976, 29 L.Ed.2d 647 (1971), and the fact that substantially all of the constitutional rights granted to adults in criminal proceedings now belong to accuseds in juvenile proceedings, juvenile proceedings in Nevada continue to be civil in nature. NRS 62.193(1), 62.195(3), 62.200(3). It is arguable that because children, generally speaking, are exempt from criminal statutes, it is unfair to allow admissions made by them in the non-criminal and non-punitive setting of juvenile proceedings to be used subsequently for the purpose of securing their criminal conviction. Even though the juvenile court was made to serve as somewhat of an adjunct to the adult criminal process, given the record presently before us, we are satisfied that the principles of fundamental fairness were not violated in this proceeding. Returning to the question of reliability of the statements  the information upon which the waiver was based  it is apparent from the record, notwithstanding the evidence of police and probation statutory improprieties, that appellant's statements for the sole and preliminary purpose of waiver, are reliable. These statements were corroborated by the fact that the police were able to find physical evidence of the burglaries from what appellant had told them. [7] Considering these statements, coupled with the evidence that appellant was nearly eighteen at the time of his detention; appellant was implicated in a series of commercial and residential burglaries which occurred over an extended period of time, cf. Matter of Welfare of Dahl, 278 N.W.2d 316, 318-20 (Minn. 1979) (no significant prior history of misconduct); the trial court found that appellant evidenced maturity and sophistication, the crimes were committed with obvious premeditation and deliberation; appellant's associates in crime are adults; and appellant is not inexperienced in delinquency arrest procedures, reliability at this procedural stage is apparent. Here, the statements are relevant to determining the best interests of the juvenile and of society, and the trial court properly admitted them. In re Harbert, 85 Wash.2d 719, 538 P.2d 1212, 1218 (1975); State v. Piche, 74 Wash.2d 9, 442 P.2d 632, 636 (1968). See People v. Morris, 226 N.W.2d 565 (Mich. App.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 849, 96 S.Ct. 90, 46 L.Ed.2d 72 (1975). In the instant case, this permitted use has no cognizable effect on the juvenile court's parens patriae relation to the child, Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. at 554, 86 S.Ct. 1045; Kline v. State, 86 Nev. 59, 62, 464 P.2d 460, 462 (1970), and is compatible with the non-criminal philosophy which underlies the Juvenile Court Act. There having been no suppression hearing below, this determination is, of course, without prejudice to appellant's right to move to suppress in the criminal proceeding. See NRS 47.090, 174.125(1).