Court Opinion

ID: 9477188
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:16:47.620854+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:45:44.944464
License: Public Domain

BEAM, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I agree that C.W.E.H.’s motion must fail because of causal deficiencies. I further agree that since both parties have argued this appeal on the basis of a rule 11 violation, our views must be expressed on that issue. I write separately only to express my concern over any inference created by the parties, through the issues presented on appeal, that a district judge must always follow all of the mandates of rule 11 in a proceeding such as this, brought pursuant to the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (FJDA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031-42.
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 54(b)(5) states that the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are not applicable to juvenile delinquency proceedings “so far as [the rules] are inconsistent with” the delinquency statutes. And, while many of the protections afforded adult criminal defendants are equally available in a juvenile setting, the Supreme Court has recognized that delinquency proceedings are fundamentally different from criminal prosecutions. Schall v. Martin, 467 U.S. 253, 263, 104 S.Ct. 2403, 2409, 81 L.Ed.2d 207 (1983). In determining appropriate standards to be applied to juveniles, the proper approach is “to strike a balance — to respect the ‘informality’ and ‘flexibility’ that characterize juvenile proceedings, and yet to ensure that such proceedings comport with the ‘fundamental fairness’ demanded by the Due Process Clause.” Id. (citations omitted).
I believe it fully appropriate to require that a juvenile’s guilty plea satisfy the essentials of due process — that it be made knowingly, intelligently, voluntarily, and that it represent an informed choice among alternative courses of action. See Gregory v. Solem, 774 F.2d 309, 314 (8th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1088, 106 S.Ct. 1475, 89 L.Ed.2d 730 (1986). Further, I am satisfied that C.W.E.H.’s plea in this matter was taken in accordance with the dictates of due process. However, I do not believe, given the nature and purpose of our juvenile system, that a failure to satisfy each of the dictates of rule 11 can justify collateral relief in a case brought under the FJDA.