In re Interest of J.C.

• Decision Date: 17 November 2022
• Docket Number: 2114 EDA 2021
• Parties: In the INTEREST OF: J.C. Appeal of: J.C.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

286 A.3d 288

In the INTEREST OF: J.C.

Appeal of: J.C.

No. 2114 EDA 2021

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted May 31, 2022

Filed November 17, 2022

Earl D. Raynor, Jr., Philadelphia, for appellant.

Elmer D. Christine, Jr., District Attorney, Stroudsburg, for Commonwealth, appellee.

Matthew J. Bernal, Assistant District Attorney, Stroudsburg, for Commonwealth, appellee.

BEFORE: BOWES, J., LAZARUS, J., and STABILE, J.

OPINION BY LAZARUS, J.:

J.C. appeals from the dispositional order, entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County, after J.C. made an admission to the crime of corruption of minors (COM)¹ and was placed on one year of probation. Because a "child," as defined by the Juvenile Act,² is incapable of committing a crime that applies only to adult perpetrators, we are constrained to vacate and reverse.

On August 17, 2019, Officer John P. Bohman, of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department, executed an affidavit of probable cause seeking an arrest warrant for then-fifteen-year-old J.C. (born 4/04).³ The affidavit alleged that J.C. had committed the delinquent acts of aggravated indecent assault without consent,⁴ indecent assault without consent of other,⁵ and open lewdness.⁶ The allegations stemmed from accusations made by A.A., a 14-year-old fellow high school classmate of J.C.’s. A.A. alleged that on May 8, 2019, J.C. touched her breasts and digitally penetrated her vagina without her consent while the two were riding on an after-school bus. Alleged video surveillance from the bus, on the date in question, was erased by the school district during a software update.⁷

A.A. reported the incident to the principal of her high school, who then contacted the school's dean of students (Dean) and directed the Dean to meet with A.A. N.T. Suppression Hearing, 6/12/20, at 12-13. The Dean met with A.A., who detailed the events that occurred on the school bus, telling him that J.C. had "touched her in inappropriate and unwanted ways." Id. at 13, 23. The Dean then met⁸ with J.C., in the presence of the school's assistant principal, to determine whether J.C.’s conduct violated school policy. Id. at 13-16. In addition to giving an oral recitation of what occurred between him and A.A. on the bus, J.C. also gave a written statement wherein he admitted to the alleged acts, but claimed that A.C. gave her consent. Id. at 15-16. Prior to giving his statements, J.C.’s parents were not notified and J.C. was not administered his Miranda⁹ rights. Following his investigation, the Dean concluded that a possible crime had been committed and contacted the school's resource officer to report the alleged incident. Id. at 20-21.

On January 2, 2020, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office filed a petition alleging J.C.’s delinquency for the above-stated offenses. On February 18, 2020, J.C. filed a motion to suppress his oral and written statements, claiming he had been subjected to a custodial interrogation without first being advised of his Miranda rights or given an opportunity to speak with his parents. Following a hearing, the trial judge denied the suppression motion finding: (1) the school officials alone initiated the investigation of J.C.; (2) the purpose of questioning J.C. was primarily to determine whether a violation of school policy had occurred; and (3) the police neither participated in, coerced, dominated, or directed the school officials’ actions. See Order Denying Suppression Motion, 9/22/20, at 2. On July 1, 2021,¹⁰ J.C. filed a motion for dismissal, claiming that the Commonwealth's failure to provide the video surveillance was a Brady¹¹ violation warranting dismissal of his case, with prejudice.

On July 7, 2021, J.C. executed a four-page written "admission colloquy form," admitting to COM, a first-degree misdemeanor. See Pa.R.J.C.P. 407. After an adjudicatory hearing, during which the court conducted an oral colloquy, the court accepted J.C.’s admission,¹² finding that it was voluntarily made. See N.T. Adjudicatory Hearing, 7/7/21, at 18-28. In exchange for J.C.’s admission, the Commonwealth agreed to nolle prosse all other charges. The juvenile court ordered a Social Study Report be prepared pursuant to Pa.R.J.C.P. 513(A). See Pa.R.J.C.P. 120 (defining social study as "pre-dispositional report, which summarizes important information concerning the juvenile to aid the court in determining the disposition"). On August 19, 2021, following a dispositional hearing, J.C. was adjudicated delinquent and ordered to serve one year of probation¹³ and complete the following: (1) perform 50 hours of community service; (2) provide a DNA sample and fingerprints; and (3) undergo a Sexual Offender Evaluation. The court further denied J.C.’s motion to dismiss.¹⁴

On August 30, 2021, J.C. filed a post-dispositional motion objecting to the Sexual Offender Evaluation he was ordered to complete, the DNA sample he was required to produce, and alleging a Brady violation due to the failure to preserve the school bus surveillance video. See Pa.R.J.C.P. 620. The motion was denied on September 17, 2021, following a hearing.

J.C. filed a timely notice of appeal and court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of errors complained of on appeal. J.C. presents the following issues for our consideration:

(1) Whether the [j]uvenile [c]ourt abused its discretion in denying [J.C.’s] motion to suppress statement, where [J.C.] was a minor questioned by a school official who[,] while acting as an agent of the police, failed to administer Miranda warnings and contact [J.C.’s] parents prior to conducting a coercive custodial interrogation, in violation of [J.C.’s] constitutional rights against self[-]incrimination and to have counsel present during questioning, respectively[,] under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and Article [I], Section 9[,] of the Pennsylvania State Constitution[.¹⁵ ]

(2) Whether the [j]uvenile [c]ourt abused its discretion in denying [J.C.’s] post[-]dispositional motion to vacate his guilty plea to [COM], which was a manifest injustice, where the Commonwealth failed to preserve video of the alleged incident, thereby prejudicing [J.C.’s] right to due process[.]

(3) Whether the [j]uvenile [c]ourt abused its discretion in ordering that [J.C.] undergo a sexual evaluation, where the juvenile was not adjudicated delinquent for [a] sexually[-] related felony or misdemeanor offense[.]

(4) Whether the [j]uvenile [c]ourt abused its discretion in ordering that a DNA sample be drawn from [J.C.] by law enforcement, where [J.C.] was not convicted of a felony offense, or the misdemeanor offenses of luring a child into a motor vehicle, 18 Pa.C.S.A. [§] 2910, or indecent assault, 18 Pa.C.S.A. [§] 3125 [.]

Juvenile's Brief, at 5 (bold and italics added).

Before we review J.C.’s claims, we sua sponte raise the issue of the legality of his disposition based on whether the offense for which he was adjudicated delinquent is a delinquent act within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. See Commonwealth v. Edrington , 780 A.2d 721, 723 (Pa. Super. 2001) (challenge to legality of sentence is non-waivable that court can raise and address sua sponte ); see also In re J.A. , 107 A.3d 799, 809 n.11 (Pa. Super. 2015) (questions of jurisdiction may be raised sua sponte ) (citation omitted).

Our legislature has created a separate legal system for the adjudication of juvenile offenders. In re Huff , 399 Pa.Super. 574, 582 A.2d 1093, 1098 (1990) ; see also 42 Pa.C.S § 6301(b)(2) (purpose of Juvenile Act is "to provide for children committing delinquent acts programs of supervision, care and rehabilitation[,] which provide balanced attention to the protection of the community, the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and the development of competencies to enable children to become responsible and productive members of the community") (emphasis added).

The Juvenile Act (Act) grants jurisdiction to the juvenile court over proceedings in which a child is alleged to be delinquent or dependent. Id. at § 6303. See Commonwealth v. J.H.B. , 760 A.2d 27, 30 (Pa. Super. 2000) ("The Juvenile Act ... ‘encompasses the entire statutory scope of authority and discretion of the juvenile court to exercise jurisdiction over children as defined by the act.’ "). In order to adjudicate a child delinquent, the juvenile court¹⁶ must (1) determine that the juvenile has committed a delinquent act and (2) determine that the juvenile requires treatment, supervision, or rehabilitation. See In the Interest of M.W. , 614 Pa. 633, 39 A.3d 958 (2012). A determination that a child has committed a delinquent act does not, on its own, warrant an adjudication of delinquency. See id.

The Act defines a "Child" as "[a]n individual who":

(1) is under the age of 18 years ;

(2) is under the age of 21 years who committed an act of delinquency before reaching the age of 18 years; or

(3) is under the age of 21 years and was adjudicated dependent before reaching the age of 18 years, who has requested the court to retain jurisdiction and who remains under the jurisdiction of the court as a dependent child because the court has determined that the child is:

(i) completing secondary education or an equivalent credential;

(ii) enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or vocational education;

(iii) participating in a program actively designed to promote or remove barriers to employment; (iv) employed for at least 80 hours per month; or

(v) incapable of doing any of the activities described in subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) due to a medical or behavioral health condition, which is supported by regularly updated information in the permanency plan of the child.

Id. at § 6302 (emphasis added). Additionally, the Act defines a "Delinquent Act" as:

(1) [A ]n act designated a crime under the law of this Commonwealth , or of another state if the act occurred in that state, or under Federal law, or an act which constitutes indirect criminal contempt under

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