Opinion ID: 2603737
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: State v. Walsh

Text: In early October 1987, Lucille Walsh left her 16-year-old son Michael home alone when she went out of town on business. While she was away, Michael had a keg party at the family home. An estimated 50 to 150 people attended the party. The police were called to the party, and one child was taken away in an ambulance. Some of Lucille Walsh's furniture was smashed. Over the course of the next few weeks Michael's behavior grew out of control. On October 20, Ms. Walsh came home early and found Michael at home with some of his friends. At the time Michael was supposed to be at school. Ms. Walsh asked Michael to leave, but he refused and she went back to work. When she returned home that night Michael was gone. The next morning Ms. Walsh had the door locks changed. Michael had not come home the night of the 20th, and there is nothing in the record to indicate Ms. Walsh knew where he was. She did not give him any money or suggest any alternative living arrangement. Ms. Walsh simply locked Michael out of the house. At the time Michael had no other relatives in the area. When Ms. Walsh returned home on the 21st, the day the locks were changed, she discovered someone had entered the house through a window in Michael's bedroom. She concluded that Michael was the intruder because his dirty clothes were on the floor, the shower had been used, and Michael's toothbrush was wet. She did not notice anything missing from the house. On the 22nd, Ms. Walsh returned from work and again discovered that someone had been in the house. As before, Michael's dirty clothes were on the floor and his toothbrush was wet. She also discovered that 10 $1 bills were missing from a stack of 25 bills that she kept in a dresser drawer. Several silver and commemorative coins were missing from the same drawer. That night Michael returned home and asked to spend the night. Ms. Walsh gave him a sleeping bag and told him to sleep on the porch. She did not ask him about the missing money. On October 23, a neighbor called police and reported a break-in at the Walsh home. Police discovered Michael and some friends in the house and arrested them for burglary. During a search incident to the arrest, police found several silver coins in Michael's possession. Ms. Walsh later identified the coins as the ones taken from her drawer on the 22nd. On October 30, Ms. Walsh opened her monthly bank statement. She discovered a canceled check that she had not written. Michael later admitted that he and some friends had taken the check and used it to buy pizza. Following a fact-finding hearing, the juvenile court found Michael guilty of burglary for the October 22 break-in. [3] Division One of the Court of Appeals reversed the burglary conviction. State v. Walsh, 57 Wn. App. 488, 789 P.2d 766 (1990). Judge Pekelis, writing for the majority, recognized the competing societal interests inherent in these cases. As she noted: Parents undeniably have an interest in preserving the security and tranquility of the family home from destructive, out-of-control teenagers. However, society has a comparable interest in ensuring that children are provided with basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing. 57 Wn. App. at 494. That societal interest is reflected in RCW 26.20.035(1)(a). The State argued that society's interest in the child's welfare can be met by allowing the child to raise a necessity defense to the burglary charge. We agree with Judge Pekelis, however, that such a solution would saddle the courts with the difficult task of evaluating the competing interests on a case-by-case basis. 47 Wn. App. at 495. We therefore reject the State's argument. [3] Judge Pekelis also correctly concluded that a parent cannot unilaterally revoke the child's right to enter the parental home unless the parent has met his or her statutory duty to provide for the child's necessities. 57 Wn. App. at 495. While we agree with her reasoning, we disagree with her resolution of the problem. Judge Pekelis would require parents to provide some alternative means for their child's care by obtaining a formal court order. 57 Wn. App. at 495-96. We believe society's competing interests are better served by allowing the parents to make the initial choice of how to provide the statutorily required care for their children. If the parents make adequate arrangements for their child's care without the necessity of an ARP, we see no reason for the courts to interfere with those arrangements. We stress that our holding should not be taken as an abdication of the court's responsibility for protecting the rights of children. Our holding simply reflects our belief that, where the needs of the child are adequately provided for, the parents should make the initial decision of how to provide for their children. Until the Legislature clearly indicates that such decisions should be made by the courts, we believe it is wiser to leave the initial decision to the parents. Although we disagree with the Court of Appeals resolution of the issue, we affirm its reversal of Michael Walsh's conviction. Ms. Walsh did not meet her statutory duty to provide for Michael's care. She locked him out of the house without arranging for a place for him to stay. She did not give him any money or food. All of his personal belongings, including his clothes, were still in the house. Ms. Walsh knew that Michael did not have a job and had no relatives he could turn to for shelter. Since she failed to fulfill her statutory duty to provide for Michael, she could not revoke his privilege to enter the family home. Therefore, his entry was lawful, and his conviction is reversed.