P.W. v. State

• Decision Date: 13 August 1993
• Citation: 625 So.2d 1207
• Parties: P.W. v. STATE. CR 92-889.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 1207

625 So.2d 1207

P.W. v. STATE.

CR 92-889.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Aug. 13, 1993.

Jon Spechalske, Mobile, for appellant.

James H. Evans, Atty. Gen., and Jean Therkelsen, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

BOWEN, Presiding Judge.

Seventeen-year-old P.W., the appellant, was adjudicated a serious juvenile offender pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-71.1, on the underlying charges of theft of property, burglary of a motor vehicle, and possession of burglar's tools. He was ordered committed to the Alabama Department of Youth Services for evaluation and placement.

The juvenile asserts on appeal that he should not have been ordered to pay court costs and fines in the amount of $1,494 because he is an indigent. At the hearing on the instant petitions, the juvenile admitted that he had been to juvenile court 28 times, and that prior to this proceeding he had accumulated $1,065 in court costs and/or restitution none of which had been paid. At the end of the hearing the juvenile judge stated:

"That's right[, no court costs have ever been paid]. Absolutely not one thin dime, and I can truthfully say that if I allowed you to do it for another month, there would still be not a dime here. You never accept responsibility for your actions. You assume somebody else is going to, or you assume that the next time you come up, you can think of a different story that will bring a little figment of imagination in somebody's mind that maybe we're going to get to him this time, and I wish that was the case, because I don't have any time left to get to you, you know, like I've told you. Your age is going to put you out of my jurisdiction. [The juvenile would turn 18 years old in 24 days]....

"....

"Now, these cases, plus the $1,050.00 that you've never showed the kindest consideration of paying a dime on it--you figured you wouldn't have to; you figured you could keep pulling the same type of activity and get away with it. And con your way out of it, like you do. You're good at it, but you just hit a brick wall today, son. I would like to believe a lot of the stuff you tell me, and I did. I would have believed you a longer route; believe me, I would have worked with you and tried my very best to get you to uh--straighten up and fly right, so to speak, but that's just not your cup of tea. You've always gotten away with it. Why should you stop, son, when nobody ever does anything to you but pop you on your wrist and tell you, '[P.], don't do it again.' You get a little careless. You figure, well, they're always gonna tell you, '[P.], don't do it, again.' Now, we're always going to come up with some other justification for it, like you being an alcoholic. You very well may be an alcoholic. I know quite a few young people, younger than you, that are alcoholics. Sad, but that's the way it is. What I'm gonna do today is send you to the state school. It will take about two weeks to process you. Including the money that you've been previously required to earn, the restitution and court costs, plus the total amount of the court costs, and I didn't get any restitution figure; so, I'm not going to take those into consideration today. It would come to about $1,494.00, within $6.00 of being $1500.00. If you can come up with $1,494.00 before they--in about two weeks--it usually takes about two weeks before they pick you [up]--I'll reset the case and reconsider it. Understand what I'm saying?

"MS. DEMETRIE [juvenile's mother]: He's not working. How is he gonna pay it?

"THE COURT: I have no idea; that's not my problem. He--

"THE CHILD: I can't--I can't work back here, Your Honor.

"THE COURT: Son, you created the problem. I can't resolve your problem. You knew about this months and years before you were put out here and you never paid one dime. You didn't work then, and if you did work, we didn't get any of it. It's a joke with you, a pathetic joke. You have always gotten away with it, and you're not gonna get away with it now. And I won't ever see you, again, other than, maybe I will in two weeks because you'll be out of my jurisdiction, but as sure as I'm sitting here, if you keep taking the attitude, which you probably will, you're going to end up in the state penitentiary. You're going to end up there.... But you're not going to learn until somebody really hits you where it hurts. You're not going to get your mind straightened out, and the sad part of it is, you could be a very good success at probably anything you wanted to do, and I know so many kids down here that probably have I.Q.'s in the 60's and the 70's, and they basically would like to be able to work. They'd like to have your ability to do it, but they can't. They're not blessed with it. You are blessed with it and you are trashing it away. That's your job. You can do what you want to do with it. I can't change it. That's what my ruling is and that's the way it's gonna be. $1,494.00, if it's paid in before they pick you up, fine. If they don't, you're going up.

"THE CHILD: Your Honor, does this mean that I can go home and earn the money?

"THE COURT: No; you're going to stay here until the two weeks is up. No; I'm not letting you out." R. 47, 52-57.

In an order entered February 8, 1993, the juvenile court stated:

"As disposition the child is ORDERED committed to the Alabama Department of Youth Services for evaluation and placement in whatever facility they deem appropriate. The child has a total of 18 points on the risk assessment instrument. He is detained at the Strickland Youth Center pending acceptance by DYS. The child is ORDERED to pay restitution to the victims in petitions .26-.27 and said matter is referred to the Restitution Committee for review and report to the Court. Court costs are assessed at level II in petition .26, and at level I in petitions .27-.28.

"The Court does note that [P.W.] owes $1,050.00 in previously assessed court costs. The Court informed [P.W.] that in the...