Court Opinion

ID: 9718604
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:27:50.81093+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:00.644209
License: Public Domain

PETERSON, Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. In my opinion, the majority’s holding that there is no statutory authority for review of the referee’s determination fundamentally misperceives the statutory relationship between judge and referee.
The nature of the relationship between juvenile court judge and referee, and the extent of the referee’s powers, are set out in Minn.St. 260.031. Under subd. 1 of that statute, the juvenile court appoints persons to hold office as referees “at the pleasure of the judge.” Under subd. 2, “[t]he judge may direct that any case or class of cases shall be heard in the first instance by the referee in the manner provided for the hearing of cases by the court.” (Italics supplied.) Subdivision 3 provides:
“Upon the conclusion of the hearing in each case, the referee shall transmit to the judge all papers relating to the case, together with his findings and recommendations in writing. * * (Italics supplied).
After making these provisions, the statute states in subd. 4 that:
“The minor and his parents, guardians, or custodians are entitled to a hearing by the judge of the juvenile court if, within three days after receiving notice of the findings of the referee, they file a request with the court for a hearing. The court may allow such a hearing at any time.”
Subdivision 4 is clearly a safeguard provision. It is intended to insure that following the hearing “in the first instance by the referee in the manner provided * * * by the court” (subd. 2), the child and his parents, guardians, and custodians have the statutory right to another hearing before the judge himself. This safeguard is significant because it is the judge, not the referee, who bears the final responsibility for deciding the case. This is clearly shown by subd. 5, the final subdivision of the statute, which provides that “the findings and recommendations of the referee become the decree of the court when confirmed by an order of the judge.” (Italics supplied.)
The statutory scheme outlined above clearly indicates that the juvenile court judge has the authority — in fact the duty— to review all determinations made by the referee.1 This authority is manifest in the statutory provisions that juvenile court referee determinations (a) are only recommendations, subds. 3 and 5; (b) must be made in the manner provided by the court, subd. 2; (c) must be transmitted to the judge, subd. 3; and (d) must be confirmed by the judge, subd. 5.
Since the judge’s authority to review all referee determinations is clear, the question is reduced to who may request the judge to *500exercise that authority. In my opinion, the majority is mistaken in viewing subd. 4 as limiting those who may make such a request. Subdivision 4 is a safeguard provision. It does not entitle the state to demand a second hearing before the judge, but this in no way bars the state from requesting the judge to review the recommendation arising out of the hearing before the referee. The state’s authority to request this review flows from subd. 2, which provides that cases may be “heard in the first instance” by the referee “in the manner * * * provided by the court.” Pursuant to this provision, Rule 7.11, Hennepin County Juvenile Court Rules, clearly provides for the state to request review of a referee recommendation that a delinquency petition be dismissed. This rule seems to me completely consistent with the statutory scheme and clear authority for the state to request the judge to review the recommendation made by the referee in this case.

. This view of the limited powers of juvenile court referees is consistent with the limited powers of family court referees under analogous statutes. As we stated in Peterson v. Peterson, 308 Minn. 297, 304, 242 N.W.2d 88, 93 (1976): “[W]e hold that all recommended findings and orders of a family court referee in custody matters are advisory only and possess no more than prima facie validity. The family court judge has the duty and retains the ultimate responsibility to make an informed and independent decision * *