Court Opinion

ID: 9581911
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:20:24.522209+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:37:20.008044
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE SHEEHY,
dissenting:
I dissent from the foregoing opinion upon the grounds that the 1987 Amendments by the legislature to the Youth Court Act with respect to sentencing and placing juvenile offenders deprives the juveniles of due process, and further the legislation invades the judicial power of the court.
The declared purpose of the Montana Youth Court Act is to provide judicial procedures in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and recognition and enforcement of their constitutional and statutory rights. Section 41-5-102(4), MCA. Punishment, as such is not a purpose of the Act. Rather the Act requires that it be interpreted and construed “to remove from youth committing violations of the law the element of retribution and to substitute therefor a program of supervision, care, rehabilitation, and, in appropriate cases, restitution as ordered by the youth Court.” Section 41-5-102(2), MCA.
One would be blind to reality not to recognize that the 1987 Amendments to the Youth Court Act have the principal purpose of delimiting to the point of elimination any power of the court to provide supervision, care and rehabilitation, except for commitment to the Pine Hills facility.
Refusing to recognize that the Youth Court has been deprived of the ultimate sentencing authority, the majority rely on those provi*320sions of § 41-5-523, MCA, which allow the Youth Court to enter as judgment-making several possible dispositions. The fact of the matter however is that in any case requiring confinement, the Youth Court must commit the youth to the Department of Family Services. Section 45-5-523(l)(b), MCA. The courts power to do anything further is restricted so that it may not act without the approval of the Department. Thus the Youth Court may “order such further care and treatment or evaluation that does not obligate funding from the Department without the Department’s approval.” Section 41-5-523(c), MCA. The majority also rely on the possibility that the Youth Court may modify its order at any time. Even that provision however is limited so that “[A]ny order the court may be modified at any time. In the case of a youth committed to the Department, an order pertaining to the youth may be modified only upon notice to the Department and subsequent hearing.” Section 41-5-523(5), MCA. What these statutes say is that the Department, an executive agency, has an equal say with the court, a judicial agency, in matters involving sentencing. That is usurpation by the executive of a judicial function.
The due process implications of the Amendments to the Youth Court Act are not adequately met by the majority. Article II, Section 15 of the Montana Constitution states:
“The rights of persons under 18 years of age shall include, but not limited to, all the fundamental rights of this Article unless specifically precluded by laws which enhance the protection of such persons.”
In testimony before the House Committee considering the 1987 Amendments, one proponent remarked that “the Youth Court is not a due process court.” The legislature may have been under that misapprehension. The State Constitution guarantees due process to persons under 18 years of age as well as to adults.
A review of the Youth Court Act for procedural protections find a great deal of due process rights accorded youths under this Act. The rights accorded youths under this Act have all the trappings of a criminal proceeding especially in light of the loss of freedom if a youth is adjudicated delinquent. Under § 41-5-303, MCA, a youth has a right against self incrimination, a right to counsel, parents or legal guardians must be immediately notified of a youth’s detention, and determination of probable cause must be made in order to detain a youth longer than 24 hours. Section 41-5-309, MCA, provides that a youth may be released on bail and the court shall use the *321provisions of Title 46 (Criminal Procedure Code) Chapter 9 as guidance. In order to proceed on a formal petition to declare the youth delinquent the youth or his parents must be served with a summons. Section 41-5-502, 503, MCA. Most important, § 41-5-511, MCA, provides that a youth has the right to counsel at all stages of the proceedings. Additionally, youths have the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and to the protections against inadmissible evidence, or illegally seized evidence or coerced confessions; the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt and youths must be fully advised of their rights. The 1987 Amendments of the Youth Court Act and the Administrative Rules promulgated by the Department to implement the changes conflict with those rights under the Act.
ARM 11.7.404(3)(8-F) and 11.7.406(7) presents serious problems with regard to admissibility of statements made and the right to confront and cross examine witnesses testifying against the youth. If the people presenting evidence to the Youth Placement Committee did not testify in court, they should not be allowed to present evidence at a later hearing. ARM 11.7.406(6) does not allow for counsel to be present; a counsel may submit a written statement, but this does not guarantee the protection of the youth’s rights under the Act, nor is it specifically stated in the rule that a request for an attorney to be present will be granted by the Placement Committee. Thus there is a conflict with § 41-5-511, MCA, which guarantees the youth’s right to have counsel present “at all stages of the proceedings.” This is a crucial step in the proceedings and counsel ought to automatically be involved. The time of sentencing is a critical stage in the criminal case and counsel’s presence is necessary to ensure that the conviction and sentence are not based on misinformation or a misreading of the court record. Townsend v. Burke (1948), 334 U.S. 736, 68 S.Ct. 1252, 92 L.Ed. 1690.
Finally, the “Placement Committee” that will decide the placement is loaded in favor of the Department of Family Services. The Committee must include a representative of the Department, a representative of the County Department of Public Welfare, a youth probation officer, a mental health professional, and a representative of a school district located within the boundaries of the judicial district. The Committee is appointed by the Department of Family Services. The mental health professional is not necessarily a psychiatrist or a psychologist. He may be a professional person certified under § 53-21-106, MCA, under the provisions of ARM *32211.7.401(1)(c). See Matter of J.M. (Mont. 1985), [217 Mont. 300,] 704 P.2d 1037, 1042, (Sheehy, J., specially concurring.)
The legislature, in its overweening concern for the “appropriation of resources” (interpret as “read our lips — we will not raise taxes”) has removed the power of the court to order rehabilitation for a delinquent youth and it has done so unconstitutionally.