Court Opinion

ID: 9537203
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:14:09.607078+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:56:11.851992
License: Public Domain

BROUSSARD, J.
I dissent. The judge of the juvenile court viewing James D. determined that it was unreasonable to conclude he was under the *919age of 16, that the police officers did not have a reasonable suspicion that he .was a truant, and that the detention was unlawful. The majority conclude that during school hours persons appearing to be between the ages of 16 to 18 may be detained on public streets for investigation of truancy solely on the basis of their youthful appearance and that because the trial court did not determine whether it was reasonable to conclude that James was under 18, its order must be reversed.
In my view, the trial court was correct in concluding that the crucial issue was whether the officers could reasonably conclude that James was under the age of 16, not 18, and the trial court’s order should be affirmed.
Section 482641 provides that a peace officer may arrest or assume temporary custody “during school hours” of any minor “subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education” found away from his home and who is absent from school without valid excuse.
It is settled that the guiding principle in cases involving temporary detention for questioning, “as in all issues arising under the Fourth Amendment and under the California Constitution ... is ‘the reasonableness in all the circumstances of the particular governmental invasion of a citizen’s personal security.’ (Terry v. Ohio, supra, 392 U.S. at p. 19.)” (In re Tony C. (1978) 21 Cal.3d 888, 892 [148 Cal.Rptr. 366, 582 P.2d 957].) As was pointed out in Tony C., because of the limited scope of a detention for questioning, it need not be supported by the actual belief in guilt required to arrest. “Yet the interest at stake is far from insignificant: it is the right of every person to enjoy the use of public streets, buildings, parks, and other conveniences without unwarranted interference or harassment by agents of the law. . . . ‘A police officer may not use the authority of his uniform and badge to go around promiscuously bothering citizens.’ ” [21 Cal.3d at pp. 892-893.)
“Detentions,” seizures of an individual which are strictly limited in duration, scope and purpose, may be undertaken by the police “ ‘if there is an articulable suspicion that a person has committed or is about to commit a crime.’” (Florida v. Royer (1983) 460 U.S. 491, 498 [75 L.Ed.2d 229, 237, 103 S.Ct. 1319]; Wilson v. Superior Court (1983) 34 Cal.3d 777, 784 [195 Cal.Rptr. 671, 670 P.2d 325].) In order to justify an investigative stop or detention, “the circumstances known or apparent to the officer must include specific or articulable facts causing him to suspect that (1) some activity relating to crime has taken place or is occurring or about to occur, and (2) the person he intends to stop or detain is involved in that activity. Not only must he subjectively entertain such a suspicion, but it must be objectively *920reasonable for him to do so: the facts must be such as would cause any reasonable police officer in a like position, drawing when appropriate on his training and experience ... to suspect the same criminal activity and the same involvement by the person in question. The corollary to this rule, of course, is that an investigative stop or detention predicated on mere curiosity, rumor, or hunch, is unlawful, even though the officer may be acting in complete good faith.” (In re Tony C., supra, 21 Cal.3d at p. 893, fn. omitted.)
In order to determine whether the presence on the public streets during school hours of a person appearing to be 16 or 17 furnishes a reasonable suspicion of truancy, we must look at the statutes governing school attendance and truancy.
Full-time school attendance is required only of those between 6 and 16, and there are a number of exemptions. Obviously this portion of section 48264 permitting “arrest” of minors subject to compulsory full-time education does not warrant detaining persons who are apparently 16 and 17 years old.
Thus, the detention of 16- and 17-year-olds during school hours for truancy investigation can be justified, if at all, on the ground that they are subject to “compulsory continuation education” and are in violation of their obligation. Section 48400 requires 16- and 17-year-olds to attend special continuation education classes for at least 4 hours per week for the school term. Section 48402 requires 15 hours per week for those not regularly employed. However, there are numerous exemptions for physical and mental health, personal services that must be rendered to dependents, attendance at a regional occupational program or center, attendance at adult school, special programs for mentally gifted students, for suspended and expelled students, leaves of absence for study travel or work, arriving from out of state within 10 days of the end of the semester, excuses applicable to persons under 16, and attendance at part-time classes of certain agencies. (§§ 48410, 48223-48227, 48230, 48232, 48900.)
In addition to the exempt 16- and 17-year-olds, there may be numerous others of that age who may be away from school premises during normal school hours without being truants, such as those on an errand for a school official, going to a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment, in transit to an athletic event, returning home because of injury or illness, or engaging in public service in conjunction with school activities. (§ 48205; In re Tony C., supra, 21 Cal.3d 888, 897.)
There is one other group that is exempt from compulsory continuation education, namely, those in attendance at a full-time public or private day *921school. (§ 48410, subd. (b).) Assuming that this group would be truant if away from the school premises during normal school hours without valid excuse, it does not follow that when during school hours a person appearing to be 16 or 17 is observed in a public place there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is a truant.
There is no doubt that the Legislature has established a clear policy in favor of full-time education of our youth and against truancy. However, as to 16- and 17-year-olds that policy must be viewed in the light of the statutory provisions permitting 16- and 17-year-olds to opt in favor of obtaining jobs in which case the statutes require only 4 hours per week school attendance. In addition 16- and 17-year-olds who do not obtain jobs may opt in favor of 15 hours per week rather than full-time education. Because of the options provided, it is apparent that the legislative goal of full-time education for 16- and 17-year-olds is based largely on the concept of voluntary adoption of the goal by the student.
Weighed against the limited legislative policy applicable to 16- and 17-year-olds is the interest of persons exempt or excused from full-time education “to enjoy the use of public streets, buildings, parks and other conveniences without unwarranted interference or harassment by agents of the law.” (In re Tony C., supra, 21 Cal.3d 888, 893.) And when the basis of police detention is solely appearance of 17 or under, the concerned interests include not only those of persons under 18 but also youthful appearing persons who may be 18 or older.
In weighing the statutory policy of providing for arrest of truants against the constitutional interests involved, we must also bear in mind that the provisions of section 48264 do not provide that peace officers shall or should arrest truants but only that they “may” arrest or assume temporary custody of truants. Use of the permissive rather than the imperative suggests that the legislative policy of enforcing truancy provisions is limited and to be enforced only in the clearest of situations, those where the student is under 16 and required to attend fulltime. Coupled with the legislative policy to encourage voluntary full-time education of 16- and 17-year-olds rather than requiring full-time education, the use of the permissive can only further indicate that the legislative policy to compel full-time attendance of that age group is a limited policy.
The limited policy reflected by the above considerations suggests that the provision of section 48264 permitting arrest of minors “subject to . . . compulsory continuation education” should be interpreted literally to apply only to those who have opted to forego full-time education and to enroll in the limited continuation education program and should not apply to any *922exempt persons including those exempt by reason of enrollment in full-time education. The Legislature may have felt that it would be counter-productive to arrest 16- and 17-year-olds enrolled as full-time students because the arrests would drive truants to more limited programs. However, it is unnecessary for me to determine the issue because the majority do not discuss it and even if the statute permits arrest of students not enrolled in the limited programs, the detention in the instant case may not be upheld.
Weighing the competing interests, we must also recognize that there is little that the youthful appearing person who is over 18 or who is exempt or excused from full-time education requirements can do to avoid detention during school hours short of giving up his right to be present in public places. If he chooses to appear in public places, he runs the risk of regular and continued detentions for investigation of truancy. A high school graduate like James should carry his diploma at all times during school hours.
But even assuming that there was a strong legislative policy to require full-time school attendance of 16- and 17-year-olds, we are still confronted with the basic rule that before an investigative stop or detention is permitted, as we have seen, it must be objectively reasonable for the officer to suspect that activity relating to crime is occurring or about to occur and that the person detained is involved in the activity. Because there are so many appearing to be 16 or 17 years old who are 18 or over or are exempt or excused from full-time education requirements, it is not reasonable for an officer to assume that, when a person appearing to be 16 or 17 years old is observed in a public place during school hours, there is a substantial probability that the person is a truant. (See United States v. Brignoni-Ponce (1975) 422 U.S. 873, 885-887 [45 L.Ed.2d 607, 618, 620, 95 S.Ct. 2574] [appearance of Mexican ancestry does not furnish a reasonable suspicion for stop to determine whether they are illegal aliens].)
It may be true that a majority of 16- and 17-year-olds enroll in full-time educational programs, but that is not the crucial figure. At any given time only a small percentage of those students will be truant and in public places. The crucial comparison in determining reasonable suspicion where the sole ground for detention is youthful appearance is the relationship of truants in public places during school hours to persons having youthful appearance who are not truants. I am satisfied that during school hours a person’s appearance reflecting an age of 16 or 17 without more does not furnish a reasonable suspicion of truancy.
The trial court observing James determined that it was unreasonable to conclude that he was under the age of 16 and that the police officers did not have a reasonable suspicion that he was a truant. The court held that the *923detention was unlawful, and we should affirm the court order granting the motion to suppress.
One further point requires discussion. Although the majority appear to recognize that the trial court could reasonably determine that the officers detained James when they stopped him, they also suggest that the trial court could have found that there was no detention until later. The only issue properly before us is whether the trial court could properly find that the stop was a detention, and we should not reach out to determine whether the trial court could properly make a contrary finding.
Moreover, I believe that under the applicable test the facts compel a finding that a detention rather than a consensual encounter occurred when the officers stopped James. A detention occurs “ ‘only if, in view of all the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.’ ” (Wilson v. Superior Court, supra, 34 Cal.3d 777, 790.) The officer drove by James and then made a U-tum pulling up in front of him as he walked along an apparently otherwise deserted sidewalk. The officers got out of their squad car as he walked up to them. According to the officers, they stopped him, they stood to his left and right and commenced asking questions as to identity, his residence, where he was coming from, and his destination. According to James, the officers first asked if they could talk with him, and he wanted to be cooperative. After a few questions, the officers searched him. In discussing whether there was a detention the judge focused on this evidence, including the unambiguous statements of the officers that they stopped him. In the circumstances, I do not believe that many people would have felt free to leave without answering the officers’ questions. The trial court’s order should be affirmed.

 All statutory references are to the Education Code.