Opinion ID: 2540544
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Circuit Judge's Disposition

Text: We address a second issue because it too may recur at a retrial of the matter. T.C. contends that Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-27-330 does not authorize probation for a period of more than two years. Because of this, he claims that the circuit judge erred by placing him on probation until his eighteenth birthday. This argument is not persuasive because T.C. was not placed on probation until his eighteenth birthday; rather he was committed to the Division of Youth Services on August 15, 2008, with the condition that should he be released prior to his eighteenth birthday, he would be placed on probation from that point forward until his eighteenth birthday. Accordingly, there is no error on this point. T.C. also maintains that the circuit judge erred by committing him to the Division of Youth Services and urges that the circuit judge failed to consider the best interests of the juvenile and the least restrictive alternative, as required by statute. Section 9-27-330(a)(1)(B) provides that if a juvenile is found to be delinquent, the circuit court may . . . based upon the best interest of the juvenile . . . [c]ommit the juvenile to the Division of Youth Services. Despite T.C.'s argument to the contrary, the record reveals that the circuit judge considered T.C.'s best interests in determining his disposition. As an additional point, the circuit judge's decision was consistent with the recommendation from T.C.'s South Arkansas Youth Services counselor. There was no error stemming from T.C.'s disposition. Reversed and remanded. Court of Appeals reversed. Special justices STUART W. HANKINS and AMY LEE STEWART join in this opinion. CORBIN and WILLS, JJ., not participating.