Court Opinion

ID: 9707438
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:11:49.600384+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:32.836343
License: Public Domain

Connor T. Hansen, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion of the court. In my opinion, the results it produces are contrary to the principles and concepts of the Children’s Code (ch. 48 of the Wisconsin statutes); are not desirable; and are not dictated by either state or federal decisions. The majority cites no authority relating to juvenile court proceedings from any jurisdiction to support its conclusion. The rationale of the majority is founded upon two cases: Gunsolus v. Gagnon (7th Cir. 1971), 454 Fed. 2d 416; and State ex rel. Johnson v. Cady (1971), 50 Wis. 2d 540, 185 N. W. 2d 306. These two cases concern the revocation of parole or probation of an adult felon.
The instant case concerns the placement of a juvenile by the department of health & social services after a juvenile court has transferred the custody of a child to the department. In this writer’s judgment, such a situation is not analogous to the revocation of probation or parole of an adult who has been convicted of a crime, and I do not believe the decisions of Gunsolus and John *633son are applicable to a change in placement in a child-custody case under the provisions of the Children’s Code.
The custody of Bernal was transferred to the H&SS Department pursuant to the provisions of sec. 48.34 (1) (d) 4, Stats.
The significant point is that the juvenile was in custody before his adjudication of delinquency. Sec. 48.34 (1) (c), Stats., provides that the juvenile court may relieve the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of legal custody, and an alternative disposition available to the juvenile court is the transfer of the legal custody to the H&SS Department as was done in this case. It cannot be said that the adult criminal was in the custody of anybody prior to his lawful apprehension and I am unable to follow the rationale that makes placement in a custody case under the Children’s Code comparable to the same constitutional standards and requirements as in adult criminal cases. Surely the juvenile has certain basic constitutional rights; 1 however, I do not believe that all of these rights must necessarily be founded upon standards established by court decisions in adult criminal cases.
The Children’s Code contains detailed procedures to be followed once the juvenile court has made the decision to transfer the custody of the juvenile from his parents, guardian, or legal custodian to the H&SS Department. Upon making the decision to transfer legal custody, the provisions of sec. 48.34 (3) (a), Stats., become applicable. This section provides that all transfers of legal custody to the department under sec. 48.34 (1) (d) shall be until the age of twenty-one, unless the department discharges the child sooner under sec. 48.53.2
*634Sec. 48.50, Stats., directs the initial procedures to be followed by the department after the juvenile court has transferred legal custody of a child to the department, and provides as follows:
“48.50 Examination of children in legal custody of department. (1) The department shall examine all children whose legal custody is transferred to it by the court to determine the type of placement best suited to the child and, in the case of children who have violated a state law, to the protection of the public. This examination shall include an investigation of the personal and family history of the child and his environment and any physical or mental examinations considered necessary.
“(2) In making this examination the department may use any facilities, public or private, which offer aid to it in the determination of the correct placement for the child.”
Sec. 48.51, Stats., then provides the type of care which the department may provide for a child placed in its legal custody:
“48.51 Type of care. (1) Depending on the results of the examination of the child, the department may place the child in any of the appropriate facilities described in s. 48.52.
“(2) In addition, if the child has been adjudged delinquent, the department may allow him his liberty under supervision either immediately or after a period in one of the facilities described in s. 48.52. If this is unsatisfactory in the judgment of the department, it may place the child in one of the facilities described in s. 48.52.”
The provisions of sec. 48.51, Stats., coupled with those of sec. 48.52, provide a wide latitude of facilities and placements available to the department for the care and treatment of children in its legal custody. These available placements vary from supervision outside of a facility or institution to placement in an institution, and include, among other facilities, foster homes, group *635homes, forestry and conservation camps, Wisconsin child center, and private facilities, should the needs of the child require specialized treatment of a nature not available in state facilities or institutions.
As I understand the record in this case, the petitioner, whose legal custody had been transferred to the department, was at liberty under supervision as provided in sec. 48.51 (2), Stats. Without attempting to define'“liberty under supervision,” the majority determines that for “constitutional purposes ‘liberty under supervision’ ” as used in sec. 48.51 (2) is synonymous with “parole” as used in criminal law. I cannot agree. “Parole” is a term generally associated with adult penal procedures and as the term is generally understood and employed, it is completely foreign to the principles enunciated in the Children’s Code. Is a juvenile to be considered at “liberty under supervision” if he has been placed in a foster home or group home, or does it depend upon his placement prior to being placed in a foster home or group home? However, in this case and in the judgment of the department, the arrangement for Bernal was unsatisfactory and the petitioner was placed in the Reception Center for Boys at Wales. While at the reception center, some plan is developed for the further placement of the child. His release from the reception center could involve a transfer to one of the state boys’ schools, a foster home, a group home, the Wisconsin child center, a private facility, a forestry or conservation camp, allowing him his liberty under supervision in his own home, and other alternatives. The needs of a child during the period the department has legal custody may, and often do, vary from time to time, depending upon the development of the child and the capabilities and availability or lack of capabilities and availability of parents and relatives. It is entirely possible that several types of place*636ments by the department may be necessary before the one most compatible with the needs of the child is found. Also, the juvenile may need intermittent treatment at the Wisconsin child center. These judgments of the department as to proper placement of a child in its legal custody are the judgments of trained social workers and frequently include evaluations of psychologists and psychiatrists.
In my judgment, the holding of the majority cannot be restricted to the factual situation of the instant case. As a result of the holding of the majority, many questions present themselves. Suppose the petitioner had been placed in a foster home, group home, forestry camp or Wisconsin child center, instead of the reception center. Suppose the petitioner was in a group home or foster home and then placed in a forestry camp or one of the boys’ schools or the Wisconsin child center. It seems to me that logic and consistency would dictate that the principles enunciated by the majority would apply to each of the above-mentioned situations and many other possible changes in placement dictated from time to time by the needs and best interests of the child. It is my considered opinion that to follow the procedure set forth by the majority will completely undermine the concept and intent of the Children’s Code as set forth in sec. 48.01, Stats. The issue here presented goes to the very core of the rights, duties and privileges of the person (in this case the department) in whom legal custody of a child has been vested and the rights of a child. I do not believe these rights and obligations can properly be analogized with those of an adult who has been convicted and sentenced under the state criminal statutes.
The majority would also hold that the juvenile, if indigent, “. . . is entitled to have the juvenile court in the county of his commitment appoint counsel upon his request. . .” I do not see this as a desirable procedure. *637Frequently, when an incident occurs precipitating a change in placement by the department, the juvenile is located a considerable distance from the court that made the original custody determination. It seems to me this requirement presents three alternatives, none of which, it is submitted, are satisfactory. The H&SS Department could return the juvenile to the county which made the original custody determination for the appointment of local counsel, or the juvenile court that made the determination could appoint local counsel and require him to go to the place the department designates as the place of hearing, or the juvenile court that made the custody transfer could appoint counsel in the county where the department decides to hold the hearing.
Furthermore, the majority opinion contains several statements of fact which I respectfully submit are not in the record.
I would deny the petition.
I am authorized to state that Mr. Justice Beilfuss and Mr. Justice Robert W. Hansen join in this dissent.
The following memorandum was filed June 8, 1972.

 See In re Gault (1967), 387 U. S. 1, 87 Sup. Ct. 1428, 18 L. Ed. 2d 527, concerning constitutional rights of a juvenile at pre-adjudicative juvenile court proceedings.

 This case does not concern the effect of ch. 213, Laws of 1971, effective March 23, 1972.