In re WJH

• Decision Date: 14 June 2001
• Citation: 2001 WY 54,24 P.3d 1147
• Parties: In the Matter of the Interest of WJH: WJH, Appellant (Defendant), v. The State of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

24 P.3d 1147

2001 WY 54

In the Matter of the Interest of WJH:

WJH, Appellant (Defendant), v. The State of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).

No. C-00-9.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

June 14, 2001.

Sylvia Lee Hackl, State Public Defender; Donna D. Domonkos, Appellate Counsel; and Marion Yoder, Senior Assistant Public Defender, for Appellant.

Gay Woodhouse, Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and Georgia L. Tibbetts, Senior Assistant Attorney General, for Appellee.

Before LEHMAN, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, and KITE, JJ.

KITE, Justice.

[¶ 1] Appellant WJH admitted several allegations of juvenile delinquent behavior. The juvenile court ordered an indefinite term of probation with specific terms and conditions to be met including 360 hours of community service in lieu of financial restitution. WJH appealed contending the juvenile court did not have statutory authority to order an indefinite term of probation, the damages assessed were excessive and not supported by the evidence, and the community service was unreasonable, constituted indentured servitude, and violated the child labor laws. We affirm the Order Adjudicating Child Delinquent and Requiring Predispositional Study and reverse the Dispositional Order. We remand with direction to the juvenile court to (1) assign a sanction level as set out in Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 14-6-248 through 14-6-252 (LEXIS 1999) or (2) enter written reasons in the record to explain both its decision to deviate from the guidelines, through its omission of assignment of a sanction level as set out in §§ 14-6-248 through 14-6-252, and its imposition of sanctions different from any provided at any sanction level and (3) conduct such further proceedings as are appropriate and consistent with this decision.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] WJH framed the issues on appeal as follows:

ISSUE I

Were the adjudication and disposition orders legally correct?

ISSUE II

Were the terms of disposition reasonable under the circumstances?

ISSUE III

Does the record support the extent of sanctions imposed?

Appellee State of Wyoming posited a single issue:

Did the juvenile court abuse its discretion in imposing the sanctions it did for Appellant's delinquent acts?

FACTS

[¶ 3] A delinquency petition was filed in Juvenile Court for the Fourth Judicial District, which alleged WJH, a minor, engaged in four delinquent acts generally described as follows: (1) In September of 1999, WJH and another boy, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-3-201(a) and (b)(i) (LEXIS 1999),¹ damaged a fire extinguisher owned by City Electric, discharging and depleting its contents which required the extinguisher to be serviced; (2) during the same time frame, in frame, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-3-302 (LEXIS 1999),² WJH entered the Hubbard Mill building without authority and (3) in violation of § 6-3-201(a) and (b)(i) vandalized the building and contents by damaging pallets of bagged feed, pouring liquid around the interior of the building, and writing graffiti on the walls; and lastly (4) in May of 1999, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-3-201(a) and (b)(iii) (LEXIS 1999),³ WJH vandalized a bulldozer by pouring dirt or sand into the radiator, fuel tank, and crankcase causing $3,575.90 in damages.⁴ At the initial hearing, WJH admitted (1) he had discharged the fire extinguisher, (2) had entered the Hubbard Mill building without permission and (3) opened feed sacks spilling seed on the floor of the building, and (4) had engaged in a dirt clod war with another boy in the vicinity of the bulldozer resulting in WJH putting a stick in the smokestack to denote he had "captured" the machine and this act might have caused dirt to go into the smokestack.⁵ Upon these admissions, the juvenile court indicated it was satisfied WJH had voluntarily admitted the delinquent acts.

[¶ 4] The juvenile court appointed a public defender to represent WJH and a court appointed special advocate (CASA) guardian ad litem who was to file a CASA investigation report with the court. The court also ordered the Department of Family Services (DFS) to file a predisposition report. The CASA and DFS reports indicated WJH had no prior violations of the law, his parents were divorced, and he was in the primary care of his father. They further reflected WJH had moved a number of times over the past several years, he currently resided with his father at a local motel, and the animosity between his parents had resulted in a number of law enforcement interventions. Despite the difficult family dynamics, the reports also noted WJH was doing well in school both academically and behaviorally.

[¶ 5] At the disposition hearing, WJH's public defender objected to the amount of alleged damages as reflected in the DFS report. Specific objection was made regarding the alleged damages to Thar's Feed⁶ in the amount of $4,721.91. The prosecutor brought Exhibit A to the court's attention, a document purportedly itemizing $3,575.90 of damage to the bulldozer attributable to WJH's delinquent acts. WJH's attorney also objected to these damages as being excessive due to WJH's qualified admission and the $2,000 liability limitation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-203 (LEXIS 1999).⁷ Exhibit A was not admitted and, beyond the discussion reported in the disposition hearing transcript, was not made part of the record on appeal. WJH's public defender recommended the court require WJH to perform community service in lieu of financial restitution because he did not have the means to make payment. Upon the court's inquiry, the prosecutor stated the DFS worker had advised him she could arrange community service. No testimony or evidence was introduced at the disposition hearing to establish the amount of damages. The only damage/restitution information developed at the disposition proceeding was the result of unsworn discussions on the record between the attorneys and the judge. The judge stated he was convinced that WJH's behavior had "cost people in excess of $2,000 in damages."

[¶ 6] As reflected in the Dispositional Order, the juvenile court placed WJH on probation with the DFS for an indefinite period of time under specific terms and conditions. In this appeal, WJH takes issue with the indefinite period of the probation and the 360 hours of community service which was ordered to be completed in a reasonable time frame with the monthly amount determined by the DFS. During the disposition hearing, the court made remarks indicating the 360 hours of community service were derived, to an extent, by dividing the $2,000 damage amount by the $5.50 minimum wage figure. The Dispositional Order reflected that, due to WJH's age, no monetary restitution was imposed and instead he was required to complete 360 hours of community service. WJH appeals the alleged errors and deficiencies of the Order Adjudicating Child Delinquent and Requiring Predispositional Study and the Dispositional Order.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 7] We discern the primary issue of this appeal is whether, in the disposition of an admitted juvenile delinquency petition, the juvenile court is statutorily limited to impose only the specific sanctions set out in Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 14-6-245 through 14-6-252 (LEXIS 1999). This is a question of statutory interpretation, and the answer must be found in the language of these provisions.

Determining the lawmakers' intent is our primary focus when we interpret statutes. Initially, we make an inquiry respecting the ordinary and obvious meaning of the words employed according to their arrangement and connection. We construe together all parts of the statutes in pari materia, giving effect to each word, clause, and sentence so that no part will be inoperative or superfluous. We will not construe statutes in a manner which renders any portion meaningless or produces absurd results.

McAdams v. State, 907 P.2d 1302, 1304 (Wyo. 1995) (citations omitted); see also GN v. State (In re C.N.), 816 P.2d 1282, 1283 (Wyo. 1991).

[¶ 8] Pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-6-229(d) (LEXIS 1999), if a "child is found to be delinquent the court may impose any sanction authorized by W.S. 14-6-245 through 14-6-252." "The dispositional phase of juvenile proceedings requires broad judicial discretion to accommodate the unique rehabilitative needs of juveniles. "ALJ v. State, 836 P.2d 307, 311 (Wyo.1992); see also A.M.R. v. State, 741 N.E.2d 727, 729 (Ind.Ct. App.2000); In the Matter of C.C., 13 S.W.3d 854, 859 (Tex.App.2000); People v. V.O., 287 Ill.App.3d 1055, 223 Ill.Dec. 468, 679 N.E.2d 1241, 1243 (1997); State v. James P., 180 Wis.2d 677, 510 N.W.2d 730, 732 (Ct.App. 1993); San Diego County Department of Social Services v. Sherry A. (In re Corey A.), 227 Cal.App.3d 339, 277 Cal.Rptr. 782, 786 (1991).

DISCUSSION

[¶ 9] The juvenile justice system, from its genesis, has had an ideological foundation of concern for the welfare of children with an emphasis on specialized, noncriminal treatment of youths. Craig J. Herkal, You Live, You Learn: A Comment on Oklahoma's Youthful Offender Act, 34 Tulsa L.J. 599, 602 (1999). In this system, the state through the juvenile court judge and welfare workers becomes in essence the de facto parents of juveniles, under the legal rationale of parens patriae.⁸ Id. Children are not assumed to have the capacity to care for themselves and are assumed to be subject to the control of their parents. If parental control falters, the state must step in as parens patriae.⁹ Id.; see also Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815, 825, 108 S.Ct. 2687, 2693, 101 L.Ed.2d 702, 712 (1988). The system developed informal proceedings, dispensing with many technicalities and formalities, to facilitate the understanding of juveniles and also invested the court with broad discretion regarding disposition. Herkal, supra, at 603; Candace Zierdt, The Little Engine That Arrived at the Wrong Station: How to Get Juvenile Justice Back on the Right Track, ...