Court Opinion

ID: 9731912
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 16:01:17.448647+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:22:18.146639
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE STOUDEB specially concurring: I agree with the result reached by the majority of the court. I believe that such result may be justified because the record shows that defendant, his attorney and his parents aU agreed that defendant could and should be treated as an adult offender. At present it does not appear to me that there is any failure of fundamental fairness in permitting a juvenile to make such a decision in accord with the advice of his counsel as required by the statute and with the participation of the juvenile’s parents as is shown by the record. Such a determination is I believe dispositive of the merits of this appeal and consequently no decision on the other constitutional issues raised by the defendant and discussed by the majority is required. Since the majority has taken a different view with respect to the issues to be discussed on this appeal I find it necessary to indicate my disagreement with the observations of the majority. In my view the statute, ch. 37, par. 702 — 7(3), is substantially deficient in provisions affording due process to those persons purportedly or presumptively within its ambit. As a preliminary observation I think it might be helpful to note that some of the terminology employed in cases of this kind is inaccurate and may tend to be misleading when applied to the facts of a particular case or when a particular statutory system is being considered. Such terms as “waiver of jurisdiction”, “relinquishment of jurisdiction”, “transfer of jurisdiction”, or “transfer of the case” tend to obscure the nature of the present controversy which in essence is whether the defendant should or should not continue to be subject to the Juvenile Act. If the juvenile is to be treated as a juvenile then the provisions of the Juvenile Act-regarding adjudication, disposition and other related matters are applicable. If not, then the provisions of the Juvenile Act are inapplicable and the provisions of statutes relating to adult offenders are applicable. Generally speaking the issue is whether the provisions of the Juvenile Act shall continue then applicability to the controversy or whether such statute shall be determined to be inapplicable. Under our present court organization such a determination is not one of jurisdiction and not in any technical sense one of transfer. In part the continued use of such language as will be noted hereafter in the opinion is to some extent due to the form of our prior court organization in which the Juvenile Court was considered a separate and inferior court. If it is determined that the Juvenile Act is not applicable it might well be that his case will be transferred but such a result is merely an administrative procedure in accord with the internal organization of the trial court. As a major premise or general principle it seems to me that the Juvenile Court Act contemplates that it shall be primarily applicable with respect to offenses which may have been committed by persons within the chronological age limitations of the Act. This principle is not disputed in this case and the State followed the statutory procedure by initially filing a delinquency petition with the circuit court which petition was the basis of a subsequent hearing on the issue of whether the offender was a juvenile and whether he should be temporarily detained in custody. However when it comes to the questions relating to further proceedings to determine the continued applicability of the Juvenile Act or its inapplicability the statute in my opinion fails to set forth constitutionally permissible procedures. In re Kent v. U.S., 383 U.S. 541, In re Application of Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428 and In re Urbasek, 38 Ill.2d 535, 232 N.E.2d 716, discuss eloquently and at length the evolution and application of constitutional requirements to juvenile proceedings. The thrust of the arguments advanced in those cases is that regardless of the laudable purposes of juvenile statutory systems such a purpose is not a substitute for the requirement that proceedings comport with principles of due process. Although the majority opinion refers to the Kent, Gault and Urbasek cases it seems to me that the majority has rejected the principles set forth in the cases on the narrow view that they are distinguishable on their facts. Concededly there is dissimilarity in the facts of this case and those in the cases previously referred to but such dissimilarities neither call for nor permit such principles to be ignored. In People v. Urbasek, supra, the court affirmed and applied the principles of Kent and Gault holding unconstitutional a section of the Juvenile Act providing for determination in accord with a preponderance of the evidence. In holding that the proper standard of proof was that requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt the court relied on the principles of Kent and Gault and not on the specific holdings in either of the cases. The majority in support of its conclusion that the statute and the proceedings are constitutional, relies principally on People v. Lattimore, 362 Ill. 206, 199 N.E. 275, People v. Hester, 39 Ill. 2d 489, 237 N.E.2d 466, People v. Davenport, 111 Ill.App.2d 197, 249 N.E.2d 328 and especially People v. Jiles, 43 Ill.2d 145, 251 N.E.2d 529. Before discussing the Jiles case which is quoted at some length in the majority opinion, I think the other three cases should be examined to give some understanding of the recent historical perspective of juvenile acts as well as to demonstrate the absence of any particular relevance to the issues of this case. In accord with the statute applicable to juvenile defendants and the court organization then in effect the court in People v. Lattimore, supra, held that the constitutional jurisdiction of the Criminal Court of Cook County could not be limited by the decision of a juvenile court, a separate but inferior court. This case involved the issue of apparently conflicting and competing jurisdictions of two courts and was resolved on the basis that the Criminal Court’s jurisdiction could not be affected by a decision of the Juvenile Court. This case did not purport to resolve any issue relating to the application of the substantive provisions of the statute affecting juveniles. Since this case in its specific holding vested all final authority in the Criminal Court it appears to have been interpreted by the legislature and subsequent court decisions as depriving any judge acting under the authority of a Juvenile Act from making any effective determination relating to the applicability of the Act. People v. Hester, supra, decided in 1968, in applying a provision of the Family Court Act, in accord with the Lattimore case, held that the Family Court had no statutory authority to prevent a juvenile offender from being subjected to the criminal laws applicable to adult offenders. According to the court, “Thus Section 9a merely allowed the juvenile court to prevent a concurrent action from proceeding before it, and did not provide an avenue whereby the juvenile court could prevent a criminal action against a minor defendant.” Later the court observed, “Moreover, the rule adopted in Harling v. U.S. D.C.Cir. 295 F.2d 161, which prevents the admission of juveniles’ confessions that are obtained before waiver of jurisdiction by the juvenile court is inapplicable because, as we have just noted, it was not necessary for our juvenile court to waive jurisdiction before the criminal courts could validly proceed”. The third case in the series representing recent history in this area is People v. Davenport, supra, decided in 1969, which applied the present section under consideration (702 — 7(3)) and seemingly adopts the view of Hester that the juvenile court has no authority to interfere with the prosecution of a juvenile trader the laws applicable to adult offenders. In the Davenport case the court neither recognizes that the statute under consideration is different from the one in Hester nor that the previous statutory provision and its interpretation were bottomed on jurisdictional conflicts between courts which no longer exist. Although the issue of unconstitutionality of the “transfer” provisions were raised in Davenport, they were not considered, a failure which may be explained in part by the fact that the case was decided prior to Kent, Gault and Urhasek. In drawing conclusions from the Lattimore, Hester and Davenport cases I do not wish to be understood as suggesting that the majority has referred or cited such cases because of their persuasive authority. Except for the fact that each of the cases approved of the juvenile having been treated as an adult offender their relation to the present issue is uncertain. I think it is a fair summary of such cases to say that they ignore any question of affording juveniles due process of law and that they consider the discretion of the State’s Attorney unlimited in his determination to seek the application of the general criminal laws. This brings me to People v. Jiles, 43 Ill.2d 145, 251 N.E.2d 529, relied on most strongly by the majority. In Jiles the court had under consideration an order entered in the Juvenile Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County which dismissed a deliquency petition. The order was entered after a hearing before a judge of the juvenile division upon the motion of the State’s Attorney, who sought dismissal of the delinquency petition so that the respondent could be prosecuted criminally. The court dismissed the appeal holding that the order was not final and that no change in the rule relating to appeals from interlocutory orders was advisable to make such order reviewable independently. By implication such an order would be reviewable in the further proceeding resulting in final judgment of conviction and sentence. The court specificaUy disclaimed that it was deciding any constitutional question. The quotation from the opinion set forth in the majority opinion which is characterized as dicta upholding the constitutionality of the statutes and proceedings, is neither dicta nor does it uphold constitutionality. Within the context of the opinion such observations are set forth in support of the courts conclusion that the judgment of the juvenile division was not intended by the legislature to be a final judgment. Whatever favorable opinion is expressed by the court with reference to the statutory proceeding is directed toward its relation to the problem which the court is deciding and neither validity nor constitutionality are mentioned. The dual judge scheme described in the statute is characterized as “unique” and “anomolous" and again the court declines to consider the validity of this scheme. The court in Jiles refers to the discretion of the State’s Attorney as “not entirely uncontrolled” which when considered in the context of orders denying the application of the juvenile act are reviewable would seem to presage a more critical examination of the statute in its relation to due process of law. According to the court in Jiles, ‘We do not regard the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 556, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84, which characterized the waiver of jurisdiction as a ‘critically important’ action, as particularly relevant to this question. Kent was concerned primarily with ‘the infirmity of the proceedings by which the Juvenile Court waived its * * * jurisdiction.’ ” In the case at bar not only is the constitutional infirmity of the statute and proceeding an issue thereby making the Kent case applicable at least in principle but also the negation of the applicability of Kent rebutts any inference that the court in Jiles intended its observations to have any bearing in this regard. Ordinarily minimum standards of procedural due process require a written statement, notice, representation by counsel, and an opportunity to be heard. It requires only a casual examination of par. 702 — 7(3), ch. 37, Ill. Rev. Stat. 1969, the only relevant statutory provision of the Juvenile Act, to conclude that the statute is completely silent in respect to any of these factors ordinarily considered minimum elements of procedural due process of law. The majority appears to have disregarded the statutory fraility and conclude that the defendant was afforded the procedural due process because the procedure was appropriate even though not described in the statute. It is true that the State’s Attorney and the judge did despite the silence of the statute, try to afford a procedure in accord with due process principles and they probably did the best they could under the circumstances. This does not cure the deficiencies of the statute even though it may be inferred from the majority opinion that they are reading into the Act as essential requirements those procedures ordinarily considered to be minimal procedural due process requirements. Perhaps a court of review can read into a statute the essential procedural due process requirements even though not specified in the statute and thereby uphold its validity. It seems to me that such a rule or practice is not a sound constitutional principle. My most serious objection to the majority’s opinion, the statute and the practice in this case is the absence of any standards or criteria limiting the discretion of the State’s Attorney or the court in the determination of the question of whether the Juvenile Act shall continue to be applicable to the juvenile defendant within its purview. As in the case at bar the Kent case dealt with a proceeding and underlying statute relating to the trial court’s determination of whether the defendant should continue to be subject to the provisions of the Juvenile Act. Since the United States Supreme Court was reviewing a judgment of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia the constitutional significance of the decision was initially somewhat reduced. In re Gault, supra and In re Urbasek, supra, later cases, affirm that the Kent decision did have broad constitutional significance and its application was not restricted merely to the District of Columbia proceeding. In holding that the District of Columbia proceeding was constitutionally impermissible the court in Kent, in language of constitutional dimensions, insisted that a juvenile should not be deprived of the protection or special concern of juvenile statutes except by procedures according due process of law and fundamental fairness. The trial court was reversed for its failure to comply with the statute, a statute which made an effort to establish standards and a procedure relevant to the determination. It seems to me that the observations in Kent should and do apply with even more force to our statute which is silent in even the most rudimentary elements of fairness. The future of a juvenile ought not to be so lightly regarded that he should be deprived of the special protection of the Juvenile Act unless reasons or criteria therefore are established. The statute refers only to the discretion of the State’s Attorney and the objections of the juvenile court and of the chief judge of the circuit court. How such a provision operates to control the discretion of the State’s Attorney or the trial judge is not apparent from either the statute or the majority opinion. In this most significant aspect of the case the opinion of the majority seems ambiguous. It seems to hold that the applicability of the Juvenile Act ought not to depend on the unlimited discretion of the State’s Attorney or the trial court. If this be true and I believe that it is or should be true, then where are the conditions or circumstances or other contingencies affecting the applicability of the Act set forth? Obviously not in the statute and consequently I believe the statute to be constitutionally infirm. Again the majority intimates that the defendant received the substantive due process contemplated by the rule that a persons’ rights ought to be governed by clearly specified and ascertainable standards because in fact the judge’s determination was supported by the pleadings and evidence. In this regard I believe it is sufficient to say that the statute does not establish any criteria for evaluating the performance of the State’s Attorney or the trial court or for that matter this court in reviewing the decision. Conceding that the evidence shows the offense to have been brutal and senseless does not alter the fact that the legislature has failed to establish any criteria in the statute establishing the rules to be followed by the court. This may be due in part to lack of commitment to the basic principle that youthful offenders are not merely young adults. Tire result seems to be an ambivalence either conscious or unconscious in our consideration of juvenile problems.