Brian W. v. Superior Court

• Decision Date: 15 February 1978
• Citation: 20 Cal.3d 618,574 P.2d 788,143 Cal.Rptr. 717
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: , 574 P.2d 788, 3 Media L. Rep. 1993 BRIAN W., a minor, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Respondent; The PEOPLE et al., Real Parties in Interest. L.A. 30765.

Page 717

143 Cal.Rptr. 717

20 Cal.3d 618, 574 P.2d 788, 3 Media L. Rep. 1993

BRIAN W., a minor, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Respondent The PEOPLE et al., Real Parties in Interest.

L.A. 30765.

Supreme Court of California, In Bank.

Feb. 15, 1978.

Wilbur F. Littlefield, Public Defender, John J. Gibbons, Kenneth I. Claymen, Elizabeth Ann Maloney and Albert J. Menaster, Deputy Public Defenders, for petitioner.

John H. Larson, County Counsel, and John P. Farrell, Deputy County Counsel, for respondent.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Robert S. Warren and Rex S. Heinke, Los Angeles, as amici curiae on behalf of respondent.

No appearance for Real Parties in Interest.

MOSK, Justice.

We confront in a new context the frequently recurring conflict between the media and the judiciary, the two "institutions pedestaled in fragile loneliness by the Constitution" (Simons & Califano, The Media and the Law (1976) p. 1). Most controversies in this arena arise as a result of abrasive court orders to the press seeking revelation of confidential sources, preventing the gathering of information, or imposing gag orders. Here, by contrast, we have a petition inspired by a litigant seeking press exclusion despite a court order permitting press access to judicial proceedings.

By petition for writ of mandate, a 17-year-old juvenile seeks to exclude media representatives from the hearing at which his fitness to be dealt with under the juvenile court law will be determined. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 707.) We are called upon to decide whether the trial court correctly ruled that representatives of the recognized news media may attend petitioner's juvenile fitness hearing. We conclude that the court was not in error, and hence that the writ should be denied.

Petitioner was involved in a minor traffic accident while driving an automobile owned by a woman who had disappeared earlier the same day. He was arrested and charged with grand theft (Pen.Code, § 487, subd. 3), robbery (Pen.Code, § 211), and receiving stolen property (Pen.Code, § 496). When the missing woman's body was found shot to death several days later, petitioner was charged with kidnaping for the purpose of robbery (Pen.Code, § 209) and murder (Pen.Code, § 187).

Because he was under the age of 18, petitioner was arraigned in juvenile court. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602.) The district attorney moved for a fitness hearing pursuant to section 707, subdivision (b), of the Welfare and Institutions Code to determine whether petitioner should be tried as an adult. ¹

Petitioner moved for a closed hearing and an order prohibiting court officers and witnesses from communicating with any member of the news media concerning evidence presented at the hearing. The court granted petitioner's request for a closed hearing as to the general public, but ordered that "pursuant to Superior Court policy effective July 15, 1975, representatives of the recognized news media may attend proceedings in this matter on the condition that names of the minor and parents or guardian shall not be reported or disclosed by the news media." The court denied the request for a so-called gag order, ² finding petitioner had failed to demonstrate a "reasonable likelihood" that he would be unable to obtain a fair trial.

Petitioner now seeks a writ of mandate to exclude media representatives from the fitness hearing and to impose a gag order on court officers and witnesses. ³ He argues that under California law juveniles are entitled to closed hearings, and that press attendance is inconsistent with the confidentiality so assured. The statute dealing with persons who may be admitted to juvenile hearings, section 676 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, provides: "Unless requested by the minor concerning whom the petition has been filed and any parent or guardian present, the public shall not be admitted to a juvenile court hearing. The judge or referee may nevertheless admit such persons as he deems to have a direct and legitimate interest in the particular case or the work of the court."

Petitioner contends this section must be construed narrowly in light of other sections of the juvenile court law which reflect a strong legislative intent to preserve the confidentiality of juvenile proceedings: i. e., section 781, which provides for the sealing of juvenile records; sections 826 and 826.5, which authorize the destruction of such records; and section 827, which limits the persons authorized to inspect such records. The Legislature could not have intended to include the press among the class of persons with a "direct and legitimate interest in the particular case or the work of the court," he argues, as this would defeat the concern for confidentiality so clearly evidenced in the cited provisions. Petitioner misperceives the intended function of section 676.

The juvenile court law was revised in 1961 upon the recommendation of a special study commission on juvenile justice which had been created by the Governor in 1957 and had issued a comprehensive report in 1960. (See generally Comment, 1961 California Juvenile Court Law: Effective Uniform Standards for Juvenile Court Procedure? (1963) 51 Cal.L.Rev. 421; Boches, Juvenile Justice in California: A Re-evaluation (1967) 19 Hastings L.J. 47.) Section 676 was taken verbatim from the draft statute proposed by the study commission and added as a new code section. The commission explained the provision that was to become section 676 as follows:

"While the present law was intended to provide closed hearings, it can be interpreted to permit open or semi-public juvenile court hearings. The Commission, therefore, is proposing minor changes in the language of the law to make private hearings mandatory, unless the minor and/or his parents desire the public's presence.

"However, we do not intend that this recommendation be used to exclude bona fide representatives of the press from attending juvenile court hearings. In so stating, we are convinced the press will continue to respect their voluntarily adopted code of ethics, whereby the names of juvenile offenders are not identified to the public.

"We believe the press can assist juvenile courts in becoming more effective instruments of social rehabilitation by providing the public with greater knowledge of juvenile court processes, procedures, and unmet needs. We, therefore, urge juvenile courts to actively encourage greater participation by the press. It is the feeling of the Commission that proceedings of the juvenile court should be confidential, not secret." (Italics added.) ⁴

Explanatory comments by a law revision commission are persuasive evidence of the intent of the Legislature in subsequently enacting its recommendations into law. (Van Arsdale v. Hollinger (1968) 68 Cal.2d 245, 249-50, 66 Cal.Rptr. 20, 437 P.2d 508, and cases cited.)

We conclude that in vesting the judge with discretion to admit to juvenile court proceedings persons having a "direct and legitimate interest in the particular case or the work of the court," it was the purpose of the Legislature to allow press attendance at juvenile hearings.

Moreover, this purpose is not inconsistent with the overall scheme of the juvenile court law. In the context of disclosure of detention records, this court in T.N.G. v. Superior Court (1971) 4 Cal.3d 767, 776-778, 94 Cal.Rptr. 813, 484 P.2d 981, recognized the Legislature's concern for preserving a confidential atmosphere in juvenile court proceedings; but we found the focus of that concern to be the lingering stigma of youthful brushes with the law. The provisions for confidentiality in the juvenile court law derive from the study commission's finding that "a juvenile arrest record has proven in many cases to be a serious handicap to a person later in life," ⁵ and were included to prevent the underlying rehabilitative philosophy from being thwarted by unduly stigmatizing the juvenile offender. Admittance of the press to juvenile court proceedings under section 676 does not frustrate this purpose as the judge can exercise control over disclosure of the juvenile's identity. ⁶

Petitioner also contends that if he is certified to adult criminal court after his fitness hearing, press attendance at that hearing will yield prejudicial publicity and jeopardize his right to a fair trial. He anticipates that evidence adduced will include detailed and sensitive information about his family background and personal history, his previous delinquent record and court contacts, and statements he allegedly made concerning the offenses with which he is presently charged. Much of this evidence, he also asserts, will be inadmissible at trial, thus magnifying the prejudicial effect of dissemination by the press of information obtained at the hearing.

In rejecting this argument, the court below found that petitioner failed to establish a "reasonable likelihood" that he will be unable to obtain a fair trial. This finding has ample support. ⁷ After reviewing copies of the newspaper articles which deal with petitioner without naming him and the crime with which he is charged, we conclude that media coverage in this case has been neither excessive nor sensational; rather, the media appear to have reported responsibly about a matter of legitimate public interest. ⁸ Nothing in the record suggests that coverage of the fitness hearing, ordinarily an undramatic event, will be any less responsible.

Finally, petitioner overestimates the impact that even substantial publicity might have on the very large pool of potential jurors. Proceedings in this case are being held in Los Angeles County, which has a population of more than seven million persons; the large number of people available for jury service, when coupled with appropriate safeguards in the conduct of judicial proceedings, makes it highly probable that an impartial jury can be impanelled. (See, e. g., People v. Manson (1976) 61 Cal.App.3d...