Opinion ID: 844236
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Plain Meaning of Sections 731(a)(4) and 733(c)

Text: Section 731, subdivision (a) authorizes a juvenile court to order specified types of treatment for a minor who is adjudged a ward of the court on the ground that he or she is a person described by section 602. It also authorizes certain additional orders and commitments. At issue here is subdivision (a)(4), which authorizes a juvenile court to [c]ommit the ward to the [DJF], if the ward has committed an offense described in subdivision (b) of Section 707 and is not otherwise ineligible for commitment to the division under Section 733. Section 733 provides, in relevant part, that [a] ward of the juvenile court who meets any condition described below shall not be committed to the [DJF]: [¶] (a) The ward is under 11 years of age. [¶] (b) The ward is suffering from any contagious, infectious, or other disease that would probably endanger the lives or health of the other inmates of any facility. [¶] (c) The ward has been or is adjudged a ward of the court pursuant to Section 602, and the most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court is not described in subdivision (b) of Section 707, unless the offense is a sex offense set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 290.008 of the Penal Code. It is this last restriction, section 733(c), which gives rise to the question presented in this case. (1)As in any case involving statutory interpretation, our fundamental task here is to determine the Legislature's intent so as to effectuate the law's purpose. ( People v. Murphy (2001) 25 Cal.4th 136, 142 [105 Cal.Rptr.2d 387, 19 P.3d 1129].) We begin by examining the statutory language because the words of a statute are generally the most reliable indicator of legislative intent. ( People v. Watson (2007) 42 Cal.4th 822, 828 [68 Cal.Rptr.3d 769, 171 P.3d 1101]; Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863, 871 [39 Cal.Rptr.2d 824, 891 P.2d 804].) We give the words of the statute their ordinary and usual meaning and view them in their statutory context. ( People v. Watson, supra, at p. 828.) We harmonize the various parts of the enactment by considering them in the context of the statutory framework as a whole. ( People v. Cole (2006) 38 Cal.4th 964, 975 [44 Cal.Rptr.3d 261, 135 P.3d 669]; Cummins, Inc. v. Superior Court (2005) 36 Cal.4th 478, 487 [30 Cal.Rptr.3d 823, 115 P.3d 98].) If the statute's text evinces an unmistakable plain meaning, we need go no further. ( Beal Bank, SSB v. Arter & Hadden, LLP (2007) 42 Cal.4th 503, 508 [66 Cal.Rptr.3d 52, 167 P.3d 666].) Only when the statute's language is ambiguous or susceptible of more than one reasonable interpretation, may the court turn to extrinsic aids to assist in interpretation. ( Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1094, 1103 [56 Cal.Rptr.3d 880, 155 P.3d 284]; accord, Olson v. Automobile Club of Southern California (2008) 42 Cal.4th 1142, 1147 [74 Cal.Rptr.3d 81, 179 P.3d 882].) It is clear from the statutory language of sections 731(a)(4) and 733(c) that section 731(a)(4) governs a ward's eligibility for DJF commitment and section 733 governs a ward's ineligibility for a DJF commitment. Subdivision (a)(4) was added to section 731 by urgency legislation passed in 2007. (See Stats. 2007, ch. 175, §§ 19, 37, operative Sept. 1, 2007; Sen. Bill No. 81 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill No. 81).) Initially, former subdivision (a)(4) of section 731 simply authorized a juvenile court to [c]ommit the ward to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, if the ward has committed an offense described in subdivision (b) of Section 707. The same bill that amended section 731 to include subdivision (a)(4) also added section 733. (See Stats. 2007, ch. 175, §§ 22, 37, operative Sept. 1, 2007.) Former section 733(c) provided that a ward of the juvenile court shall not be committed to the DJF if, among other things, the most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court is not described in subdivision (b) of Section 707, unless the offense is a sex offense set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of section 290 of the Penal Code. [4] Thus, from the time of enactment, section 731(a)(4) stated a ward's eligibility for DJF commitment and section 733 stated a ward's ineligibility. This distinction was made express by the Legislature when only a few weeks after its enactment of new subdivision (a)(4) of section 731 and section 733 the Legislature amended section 731(a)(4) to clarify that a juvenile court has authority to commit a ward to the DJF if the ward has committed an offense described in subdivision (b) of Section 707 and is not otherwise ineligible for commitment to the division under Section 733.  (Stats. 2007, ch. 257, § 2, eff. Sept. 29, 2007, italics added; see Assem. Bill No. 191 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.).) This later version of section 731(a)(4) was in effect at the time C.H. was committed to the DJF. (2) As noted, section 731(a)(4) authorizes DJF commitment if the ward has committed an offense described in subdivision (b) of Section 707 and is not otherwise ineligible for commitment to the division under Section 733. (Italics added.) The ordinary and usual usage of and is as a conjunctive, meaning  `an additional thing,'  also or plus. ( Amerigraphics, Inc. v. Mercury Casualty Co. (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 1538, 1551-1552 [107 Cal.Rptr.3d 307]; accord, Kobzoff v. Los Angeles County Harbor/UCLA Medical Center (1998) 19 Cal.4th 851, 861-862 [80 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 968 P.2d 514]; Santos v. Dondero (1936) 11 Cal.App.2d 720, 723 [54 P.2d 764].) In order for a ward to be committed to the DJF, section 731(a)(4) read as a conjunctive, requires that the ward has committed an offense listed in section 707(b), plus the ward is not ineligible under section 733. Both are necessary predicates. A ward's commission of an offense described in section 707(b) is, therefore, a prerequisite for a juvenile court's authority to order DJF commitment. Only if the juvenile ward is eligible for commitment to the DJF because of his or her commission of an offense listed in section 707(b) should the juvenile court proceed to consider whether he or she is nevertheless statutorily ineligible for such a commitment pursuant to section 733, including section 733(c). (3) Under section 733(c), a ward who has committed an offense described in section 707(b) is ineligible for commitment to the DJF if his or her  most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court is not described in subdivision (b) of Section 707, unless the offense is a sex offense set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 290.008 of the Penal Code. (§ 733(c), italics added.) The antecedent being referenced by the offense in this quoted language is the ward's most recent offense. Thus, the statutory language of section 733(c) provides that a ward is ineligible for commitment to the DJF if his or her most recent offense admitted or found true by the court is not an offense described in section 707(b), unless the ward has a previously sustained petition for a section 707(b) offense and the most recent offense is one of the sex offenses set forth in Penal Code section 290.008(c). The express exception for specified sex offenses in subdivision (c) of Penal Code section 290.008 is to the in eligibility to a DJF commitment as stated in the earlier clause of section 733(c). It is not a substitute for the initial, prerequisite eligibility requirement set forth in section 731(a)(4) that the ward have committed an offense described in section 707(b). Read together, sections 731(a)(4) and 733(c) limit the class of wards who may be committed to the DJF to those wards who (1) have committed an offense described in section 707(b) and (2) whose most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court is listed either in section 707(b) or Penal Code section 290.008(c). (4) A contrary reading of section 733(c)'s description of those juvenile wards who are ineligible for commitment to the DJF would give the and used in section 731(a)(4) a disjunctive meaning. That is, one would need to interpret and as or. It is true that courts will sometimes substitute or for and, and vice versa, when necessary to accomplish the evident intent of the statute, but doing so is an exceptional rule of construction. ( Bianco v. Ind. Acc. Com. (1944) 24 Cal.2d 584, 587 [150 P.2d 806]; Santos v. Dondero, supra, 11 Cal.App.2d at p. 723.) We reject application of the rule here because construing the word and in section 731(a)(4) as or would render a portion of section 733(c) superfluous. If and were construed to mean or in this context, section 731(a)(4) would provide that a ward is eligible for commitment to the DJF if he or she has committed an offense specified in section 707(b) or if he or she was eligible under section 733(c) because his or her most recent offense was one specified under section 707(b) [5] or because he or she committed one of the sex offenses enumerated in Penal Code section 290.008(c). But if the commission of any offense specified in section 707(b) qualifies a juvenile ward for commitment to the DJF, it would be meaningless to say that the ward is also eligible if his or her most recent offense is listed in section 707(b). It is a settled principle of statutory construction that courts should strive to give meaning to every word in a statute and to avoid constructions that render words, phrases, or clauses superfluous. ( Klein v. United States of America (2010) 50 Cal.4th 68, 80 [112 Cal.Rptr.3d 722, 235 P.3d 42]; accord, Curle v. Superior Court (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1057, 1063 [103 Cal.Rptr.2d 751, 16 P.3d 166].) We harmonize statutory provisions, if possible, giving each provision full effect. ( Cacho v. Boudreau (2007) 40 Cal.4th 341, 352 [53 Cal.Rptr.3d 43, 149 P.3d 473].) Interpreting the word and in section 731(a)(4) as a conjunctive not only avoids rendering a portion of section 733(c) meaningless, it harmonizes the provisions of the statutes as a whole, and preserves section 731(a)(4) as the eligibility statute and section 733(c) as the ineligibility statute in accordance with the Legislature's apparent intent. It ascribes to the language of the statutes their ordinary and usual meaning.