Opinion ID: 1418619
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Juvenile's Disposition

Text: In his second assignment of error, the juvenile alleges that the trial court failed to make an adequate record at the dispositional hearing and abused its discretion in committing the juvenile to the Industrial Home for Youth. [15] In the case of State ex rel. D.D.H. v. Dostert, 165 W.Va. 448, 471, 269 S.E.2d 401, 416 (1980), this Court stated that when the trial court has properly considered all relevant factors, the discretionary dispositional decisions of the trial courts should only be reversed where they are not supported by the evidence or are wrong as a matter of law. Where the record discloses that such full consideration has not taken place, a dispositional order cannot be sustained. See Larry L. v. State, 191 W.Va. 165, 444 S.E.2d 43 (1994)( per curiam ); State ex rel. S.J.C. v. Fox, 165 W.Va. 314, 268 S.E.2d 56 (1980). In looking at the disposition in the instant case, the following facts, well shown in the record below, are pertinent. The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for acts which had he been an adult would have resulted in sentences of ten to twenty-five years on the sexual assault count and one to five years on the conspiracy count. The lower court rightly found that the nature of the juvenile's offense was violent and horrific. As a result of the juvenile's conduct an innocent young woman may well suffer for the rest of her life. Despite the serious nature of the charges facing him, the juvenile showed a lack of full appreciation of the court's authority. The State brought him to court twice for violating the conditions of his bond. After his first violation, the juvenile was committed to the Northern Regional Detention Center for less than a month. Although the juvenile characterizes this treatment as heavy-handed, the State did not object to a subsequent motion requesting that the juvenile be placed on home confinement. While on home confinement, he was allowed to attend wrestling matches and baseball games. Despite the court's admonitions, the juvenile again violated the terms of his bail. In light of the serious nature of the charges facing him, the juvenile's conduct prior to his conviction supported the circuit court's conclusion that the juvenile did not appreciate the seriousness of his conduct, and in fact considered himself as the victim in the trial situation. Additionally, the juvenile's parents failed to adequately supervise him, and themselves did not appreciate or acknowledge the nature of their son's misconduct. The sexual assault occurred at a party attended by the juvenile with no adult supervision, where alcohol was served. The juvenile's father tried to minimize his son's bond conditions violation. Notwithstanding the previous violations, the juvenile's father requested that the court grant the juvenile more home confinement windows, stating that, even defendants in jail get some sort of outside recreational time, thus reinforcing his son's belief that the system was victimizing him. The juvenile admitted to a post-trial interviewer that he had been using alcohol and drugs since he was twelve, and had been intoxicated a number of times prior to the incident. But the juvenile's father stated that he was only aware of one other occasion when his son had used alcohol. The father expressed his belief that his son's troubles were not his own fault, but stemmed from the company he kept. The juvenile's probation officer testified that he considered commitment to the Industrial Home for Youth the most appropriate placement. The probation officer based his recommendation upon the juvenile's failure to express responsibility or remorse for his conduct, a doubt that the juvenile would respond to treatment outside of a secure facility, and the availability of appropriate treatment at the Industrial Home. [16] According to his sex offender evaluation, the juvenile's treatment index indicated that he might not be motivated for treatment, due to his unwillingness to accept his conviction. The sex offender evaluator told the court that she believed the juvenile to be amenable to outpatient treatment; but, according to her report, the juvenile, on advice of counsel, refused to discuss the facts of his case. Therefore, she had no knowledge regarding the juvenile's perception of his conduct on the evening of the incident. [17] From all of the interactions of the juvenile with the court, it is clear that the court had a basis for concluding that neither the juvenile nor his parents at the time of his disposition acknowledged or appreciated the serious wrongfulness of his misconduct, the conditions and problems that apparently led to that misconduct or the need to take serious steps that could lead to such an acknowledgment, appreciation, change of conditions, and addressing of problems. The fact that the juvenile had and has been advised by counsel not to discuss the events leading to the charges against him and his conduct in connection with those eventspresumably at least in part because of the possibility of a reversal of his adjudication on appealobviously impaired (and may still impair) the trial court's ability to assess the juvenile's ability and willingness to accept responsibility for wrongdoing, to express remorse, and to engage in rehabilitative programs, in any dispositional setting. In such circumstances, the court must simply make do with what it has. As we stated in Syllabus Point 6 of State ex rel. D.D.H. v. Dostert, 165 W.Va. 448, 269 S.E.2d 401 (1980): In considering the least restrictive dispositional alternative for sentencing a juvenile, a juvenile court must consider the reasonable prospects for rehabilitation of the child as they appear at the time of the dispositional hearing, with due weight given to any improvement in the child's behavior between the time the offense was committed and the time sentence is passed. Syllabus Point 3, State ex rel. S.J.C. v. Fox, 165 W.Va. 314, 268 S.E.2d 56 (1980) (emphasis added). In the instant case, the court at the time of the dispositional hearing was not only entitled but required to assume that the jury's findings were correct factually and legally; and that the juvenile's continued unwillingness to discuss what he had done was consistent with a demonstrated attitude of denial that, while constitutionally absolutely permissible, was also contrary to the juvenile's best interests and his progress in rehabilitation. Under these circumstances, we do not believe that the trial court abused its discretion in placing the juvenile in circumstances that the court believed would be more conducive to the juvenile's moving in the direction of appreciating the wrongfulness of his conduct and in removing the juvenile from the circumstances that had led to his misconduct, and placing him where he could receive assistance in developing skills to help him move forward in a positive direction. Having said this, we hold based on the record before us that the circuit court, in its regular reviews of the juvenile's case, should be particularly attuned to evaluating the juvenile's acceptance of responsibility and rehabilitative progress following this Court's affirmance of his adjudication. The record before us suggests that the juvenile has been making very good progress, academically and otherwise. If the appellate affirmance of the juvenile's adjudication and disposition results in the sort of acceptance of responsibility and acknowledgment of wrongdoing that can enhance rehabilitative progress, the circuit court should have additional strong grounds to consider early release from confinement.