Opinion ID: 2359029
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Use of Juvenile Delinquency Record for Sentence Enhancement under the Habitual Offender Statute

Text: The State argues that the court of appeals erred when it determined that a juvenile delinquency adjudication cannot be used for sentence enhancement under the habitual offender law. This court in Snyder v. State, 332 Ark. 279, 965 S.W.2d 121 (1998), held that Ark.Code Ann. § 16-97-103 (Supp.1997) allows the introduction into evidence of prior juvenile delinquency adjudication records if they survive an Arkansas Rule of Evidence 403 challenge. No such objection was made by the defense counsel during the guilt phase of the trial in this case. However, that the prior juvenile delinquency adjudication records are admissible at trial does not completely answer the question raised by the parties regarding the use of the prior juvenile delinquency adjudication for habitual offender status. The relevant habitual offenders statutes are found at Ark.Code Ann. § 5-4-501-5-4-504 (Repl.1997). In those statutes, the Arkansas General Assembly specifically requires a previous conviction or finding of guilt before the habitual offender provisions are triggered. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-4-504(a) Habitual offenders-Proof of previous conviction states in part: (a) A previous conviction or finding of guilt of a felony may be proved by any evidence that satisfies the trial court beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was convicted or found guilty. This court has held that a finding of juvenile delinquency is not considered a conviction. See Snyder v. State, supra ; Munhall v. State, 337 Ark. 41, 986 S.W.2d 863 (1999); Rogers v. State, 260 Ark. 232, 538 S.W.2d 300 (1976). Also the court of appeals pointed out in its opinion, as has this court, that the General Assembly has recognized that a juvenile delinquency adjudication is different from a conviction. See, e.g., Ark.Code Ann. § 16-97-104 (Supp.1997) (Proof of prior convictions, both felony and misdemeanor, and proof of juvenile adjudications shall follow the procedures outlined in §§ 5-4-504-5-4-504.); Ark.Code Ann. § 5-73-130(a) (Repl.1997) (Whenever a person under eighteen (18) years of age is unlawfully in possession of a firearm, the firearm shall be seized and, after an adjudication of delinquency or a conviction, shall be subject to forfeiture.); Snyder, supra . Furthermore, it appears that the General Assembly also recognizes a difference between an adjudication or finding of guilt and an adjudication of delinquency. See, e.g., Ark.Code Ann. § 12-12-1109(a) and (b) (1997), (A person who is adjudicated guilty or adjudicated delinquent for a sex offense, a violent offense, or a repeat offense on or after August 1, 1997, shall have a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample drawn....); see also, Ark.Code Ann. § 9-27-309(c) (Repl.1998) (Records of juveniles who are designated as extended juvenile jurisdiction offenders shall be kept for ten (10) years after the last adjudication of delinquency, date of plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or finding of guilt as an adult or until the juvenile's twenty-first birthday, whichever is longer.) Such a finding would comport with the purpose of the juvenile code, which is, in part, to rehabilitate instead of punish young offenders. See Ark.Code Ann. § 9-27-302(3) (Supp.1999). This Court has reiterated that [J]uvenile offenders are not adult offenders and are not treated as such.... [T]he entire process and the purpose of the juvenile code set it apart from the criminal code and many of the considerations involved in dealing with juvenile offenders are significantly different. L.H. v. State, 333 Ark. 613, 973 S.W.2d 477 (1998) (citing Robinson v. Shock, Supt., 282 Ark. 262, 265, 667 S.W.2d 956, 958 (1984)). A juvenile delinquency adjudication is not a conviction of a felony, and it is not a finding of guilt of a felony. A prior juvenile delinquency adjudication cannot be used for sentence enhancement under the habitual offender law. We hold that the trial court erred in admitting Vanesch's prior juvenile delinquency adjudication for the purpose of sentence enhancement under the habitual offender law.