Court Opinion

ID: 9516636
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 23:47:37.966343+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:37:37.102064
License: Public Domain

DONIELSON, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent.
Under our de novo review, I believe the elements of sections 232.45(6) and (7) are clearly satisfied. T.D., who was within two months of turning age eighteen at the time of the assault, had committed two prior assaults on the same victim. In the third assault, which formed the basis of this action, the victim was severely injured. The *640record shows that T.D. met the victim as the victim walked to the men’s dormitory on the Morningside College campus. They had known each other for some time. T.D. verbally threatened the victim and then struck her in the temple with her fist. The victim kicked T.D. in the thigh and fell to the ground on the ice. T.D. then began kicking the victim as she was on the ground. The third kick was to the victim’s face, which broke her nose and fractured her cheekbone. The victim was apparently bleeding a great deal but T.D. continued to kick the victim eight or ten more times. T.D. also pulled the victim’s hair and yanked her head back and forth. A dormitory resident, and friend of the victim, came outside and pulled T.D. away from the victim. The victim was then taken to the hospital.
From the record it is apparent that the victim lost a lot of blood and experienced a great deal of pain. Her injuries were severe and extensive — she had two fractures of the nose, neck injuries requiring her to wear a neck brace, a triangular fracture on her left cheekbone, and a hearing loss in her left ear.
The waiver and investigation report recommended waiver of juvenile court jurisdiction. T.D. reached the age of majority two months prior to the waiver hearing. She had received her high school equivalency and had just had a baby. She was living with her mother and earing for her baby at the time of the hearing. The juvenile court ordered waiver of jurisdiction.
Upon rehearing and after hearing testimony, the court concluded that there was probable cause to believe that T.D. did commit the assault. The court then stated its concerns as follows: “I’m a bit torn between two thoughts. Number one is the weighing of the seriousness of the assault against the fact that there is no prior juvenile record that has been incurred; in other words, that she has never before been brought before or called to the attention of juvenile authorities.”
Section 232.45(7)(a) and (b) set forth, as factors to be considered in deciding whether to waive juvenile court jurisdiction, both the seriousness of the crime and the prior juvenile record. In addition, section 232.-45(7)(c) requires the court to consider
c. The programs, facilities and personnel available to the juvenile court for rehabilitation and treatment of the child, and the programs, facilities and personnel which would be available to the court that would have jurisdiction in the event the juvenile court waives its jurisdiction so that the child can be prosecuted as an adult.
In its ruling the court noted that because T.D. had no prior juvenile record “[i]t follows, therefore, that it cannot now be said that the child could not or would not respond to rehabilitation efforts within the juvenile system when such efforts have never even been attempted.” In making this ruling the court did not consider sections (b) and (c) separately, but assumed that (c) follows from (b). This assumption is incorrect.
T.D. had committed prior violent acts, but just had not been caught or charged. The fact that T.D. has not previously appeared before juvenile authorities does not mean that juvenile treatment programs would benefit her in the instant case. The testimony of the deputy probation officer indicated that, because T.D. had already reached her majority, the juvenile court resources were limited and that, if juvenile probation were ordered, there would be no remedy for potential probation violations. There can be no question but that the alternatives available in the adult system are far greater in number and thus provide both T.D. and the community with a better chance of T.D.’s rehabilitation.
Considering the violent nature of T.D.’s acts upon the victim, the limited programs available for T.D.’s rehabilitation, and the recommendations of the juvenile court judge and the juvenile probation officer, I would reverse the lower court and order juvenile court jurisdiction waived.