requires that “satisfactory completion” of supervision or probation “shall be deemed to have occurred if the person has no new findings of wardship or conviction for a felony offense or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during the period of supervision or probation and if he or she has not failed to substantially comply with the reasonable orders of supervision or probation that are within his or her capacity to perform.” As stated by its author, the goal of Assembly Bill No. 666 was to “ ‘reduce recidivism and . . . open pathways to college and jobs for justice-loving youth whose criminal records and histories stand in the way of employment and other re-entry opportunities.’ ” (Assem. Com. on Public Safety, analysis of Assem. Bill No. 666, at p. 6.) To that end, Senate Bill No. 1038 had “ ‘revised the central policy and process for the sealing and dismissal of charges in non-violent juvenile delinquency cases,’ ” but “ ‘in the past few months experience in the courts has revealed implementation concerns. If passed AB 666 will provide for statewide standards for the courts and ensure access of youth to jobs and higher education.’ ” (Assem. Com. on Public Safety, Analysis of Assem. Bill No. 666, at p. 6.) The Assembly Committee report included comments by Commonweal, the bill’s sponsor, expressing support for “ ‘better guidance to courts in determining what constitutes “satisfactory completion” of probation or supervision under Section 786.’ ” As relevant here, Commonweal recommended that “ ‘ “satisfactory completion” be defined utilizing two criteria. First (drawing from . . . Section 781, the “older” sealing statute) that the individual not have been adjudicated or convicted for a new felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during the period of supervision. Second, that the person did not fail substantially to comply with the reasonable orders of probation that were within his or her capacity to perform. This latter criterion is viewed as providing a “passing grade” standard for “satisfactory” completion. Many probation orders in delinquency cases are checklists of conditions that are difficult or impossible for many adolescents to perform at an “A” grade level . . . . On occasion, children on
probation backslide by perhaps failing a drug test or skipping an appointment—but this does not mean that they cannot or do not rebound to a level of satisfactory overall performance. . . . [¶] Our goal, after all, is to support the re-entry, rehabilitation and employability of juveniles having justice system histories, and not to impose lifetime barriers to success based on probation performance criteria that are too rigid or unrealistic from an adolescent development perspective.’ ” (Assem. Com. on Public Safety, Analysis of Assem. Bill No. 666, at p. 10.) The Language of Section 786 Does Not Permit the Juvenile Court to Use Two Different Standards to Dismiss and Seal. “When referring to the completion of probation, judges and litigants often use the terms ‘successful’ and ‘satisfactory’ interchangeably. But the terms are not always interchangeable and even the same term can have different statutory definitions. Differing statutes require that care be taken to identify the statute at issue, use the correct statutory term, and apply the definition specific to that statute to avoid confusion as to the nature of the court’s finding and its effect.” (In re J.G. (2016) 3 Cal.App.5th 521, 525.) For example, successful completion of probation, for purposes of dismissal under Penal Code section 1203.4, “requires that a defendant successfully complete every condition of probation for ‘the entire period’ of probation.” (In re Timothy N. (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 725, 738.) By contrast, section 786 requires only “satisfactory completion” with probation and, to underscore the point, specifically defines “satisfactory completion” as “substantial compliance.” (§ 786, subd. (c)(1).) Substantial compliance is not perfect compliance. Substantial compliance is commonly understood to mean “compliance with the substantial or essential requirements of something (as a statute or contract) that satisfies its purpose or objective even though its formal requirements are not complied with.” (Merriam-Webster’s Dict. of Law (as of May 12, 2017).)