A.M. v. State

• Decision Date: 20 August 2018
• Docket Number: Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-JV-618
• Citation: 109 N.E.3d 1034
• Parties: A.M., Appellant-Respondent, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Petitioner
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

109 N.E.3d 1034

A.M., Appellant-Respondent,

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Petitioner

Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-JV-618

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

FILED August 20, 2018

Rehearing denied October 19, 2018

Attorney for Appellant: Cara Schaefer Wieneke, Wieneke Law Office, LLC, Brooklyn, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee: Curtis T. Hill, Jr., Attorney General, Lee M. Stoy, Jr., Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana

Crone, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] Fifteen-year-old A.M. was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for conduct amounting to class B misdemeanor battery if committed by an adult. He was placed on parental supervision/probation. He subsequently committed criminal acts and violated other probation rules, and the State moved to modify his placement. The trial court held a dispositional hearing and modified his placement to the Department of Correction ("DOC"). A.M. now appeals, claiming that the trial court abused its discretion by relying on insufficient information and by failing to explain its reasons for modifying his placement to the DOC. He also contends that he was denied his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel during the modification hearing. Finding that the trial court acted within its discretion in modifying A.M.'s placement and concluding that A.M. was not denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] A.M., born in June 2002, is a teenager with a history of emotional and behavioral issues. At age eight, he began counseling to address his issues and was enrolled at an alternative school. In his seven years of attendance at the school, he was frequently truant and/or tardy and had multiple suspensions for fighting, "explosive rage," property destruction, e.g., throwing chairs and flipping desks, and violent acts against school personnel. Appellant's App. Vol. 2 at 65. At age ten, he had three true findings for acts amounting to class D felony battery with bodily injury if committed by an adult. He was put in parental placement under the supervision of the probation department. In the ensuing years, he had several suspensions from school and several referrals to the juvenile court, which were dismissed.

[3] In 2017, A.M. beat up a fellow teenager at the fairgrounds, and the victim required emergency room treatment for cuts on his face. This incident resulted in a true finding for acts amounting to class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct if committed by an adult. Again, A.M. was placed on supervised probation in his mother and stepfather's home. He was ordered to avoid all criminal activity, avoid possession and use of controlled substances, alcohol, and tobacco, attend school regularly, obey school rules and teachers, study for one hour per school night, obey his parents, abide by an 8:00 p.m. curfew, assist in meal preparation and clean up at home, prepare a list of long- and short-term goals, participate in mental health services and anger management counseling, submit a written apology to his victim, complete community service, and avoid all direct and indirect contact with a certain named individual. Id. at 77.

[4] Within two months of the supervised probation order, A.M. was a suspect in a burglary involving the residence of one of his classmates. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested for acts amounting to class B misdemeanor battery if committed by an adult, stemming from a physical altercation at the bus stop. He was suspected of alcohol use, expelled from his alternative school, and wanted by police for theft of a firearm. These developments prompted the State to seek a modification of A.M.'s placement to the DOC. At the hearing on the motion to modify, the parties stipulated to the redaction of the burglary- and alcohol-related allegations. A.M. admitted to the remaining allegations in the motion to modify, which included the battery allegation as well as the violation of several rules, including those related to his conduct and attendance at school, conduct at home, curfew, participation in counseling, and the no-contact order. The parties also stipulated to the admission of a police report in which A.M. admitted to stealing a handgun. The trial court issued a dispositional order finding that A.M. had committed criminal acts and violated several of the rules of his placement. The court modified his placement to the juvenile division of the DOC. A.M. now appeals the trial court's order. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Discussion and Decision

Section 1 – The trial court acted within its discretion in modifying A.M.'s placement.

[5] A.M. asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in modifying his placement. The disposition of a juvenile adjudicated a delinquent is a matter committed to the trial court's discretion, subject to the statutory considerations of the child's welfare, community safety, and the policy favoring the least harsh disposition. R.H. v. State , 937 N.E.2d 386, 388 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). We review the trial court's dispositions and modification thereof for an abuse of discretion, which occurs if its decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it or the reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom. Id. ; see also K.A. v. State , 775 N.E.2d 382, 386 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (applying abuse of discretion standard where juvenile challenged modification of placement to DOC following her violation of terms of suspended commitment), trans. denied . In determining whether a trial court has abused its discretion, we neither reweigh evidence nor judge witness credibility. Ripps v. State , 968 N.E.2d 323, 326 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

[6] The crux of A.M.'s argument is that the trial court modified his placement to the harshest option – the DOC – without sufficient information concerning his circumstances and without adequately explaining its reasons for doing so. Juvenile court proceedings are civil, not criminal, in nature. T.K. v. State , 899 N.E.2d 686, 687-88 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). "[T]he goal of the juvenile process is rehabilitation so that the youth will not become a criminal as an adult." Id. As such, juvenile courts have a variety of placement choices. Id. Indiana Code Section 31-37-18-6 reads,

If consistent with the safety of the community and the best interest of the child, the juvenile court shall enter a dispositional decree that:

(1) is:

(A) in the least restrictive (most family like) and most appropriate setting available; and

(B) close to the parents' home, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;

(2) least interferes with family autonomy;

(3) is least disruptive of family life;(4) imposes the least restraint on the freedom of the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian; and

(5) provides a reasonable opportunity for participation by the child's parent, guardian, or custodian.

[7] Indiana Code Section 31-37-18-9(a)(5) requires the trial court to state its reasons for the disposition chosen. This involves the trial court's issuance of written findings and conclusions concerning the child's care, treatment, rehabilitation, or placement; parental participation in the plan; efforts made to prevent the child's removal from the parent; family services offered; and the court's reasons for its disposition. Ind. Code § 31-37-18-9(a)(1)-(5).

[8] With respect to the sufficiency of the information to support the trial court's decision, we note that the trial court specifically incorporated by reference all the pleadings and papers of the service providers and probation department. Appellant's App. Vol. 2 at 137. These documents include probation department reports and correspondence, A.M.'s lengthy school disciplinary record, his juvenile criminal history, including victim incident reports, his records from the counseling center, and the police report in which he admitted to having recently stolen a handgun. In short, there is no dearth of information in the record to support the trial court's modification order. A.M.'s claims to the contrary amount to invitations to reweigh evidence, which we may not do. See Ripps , 968 N.E.2d at 326.

[9] A.M. also claims that the trial court committed reversible error in failing to adequately explain its reasons for modifying his placement. We disagree. The trial court specified several reasons in its dispositional order, including that A.M. committed battery while in his current placement, left home without permission, made verbal threats to his family, was expelled from school, failed to abide by the court-ordered curfew, failed to comply with counseling services, and continued to have contact with the named individual with whom all contact was prohibited. Appellant's App. Vol. 2 at 134, 136-37. The court concluded, in relevant part,

That by reason of the foregoing facts the Court finds respondent child has not behaved well, is effectively beyond the control of his parent(s).

The Court further finds that reasonable efforts were made to prevent the child's removal from the child's parent(s) by placing subject on formal supervision on October 30, 2017, and [he] has failed to abide by and comply with Rules of Supervision set forth by the Court on that date, and as more fully outlined in the Modification Report and Request for Modification of Dispositional Decree filed herein.

The child needs further family preservation services of care, treatment, and rehabilitation that the parent cannot offer at this time. The removal of the child was authorized and necessary as remaining in the home would be contrary to the best interests and safety and welfare of the child. Reasonable efforts to prevent the removal of the child from his home have been made and as set forth in the pleadings and papers of the Probation and or all other service providers filed herein are incorporated by reference. It is in the best interests and safety and welfare of the child to remain outside of the parent's custody.

This

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