People v. Charles G. (In re Charles G.), A149593

• Decision Date: 25 August 2017
• Docket Number: No. A149593,A149593
• Citation: 14 Cal.App.5th 945,223 Cal.Rptr.3d 350
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: IN RE CHARLES G., a Person coming under the Juvenile Court Law. The People, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Charles G., Defendant and Appellant.

14 Cal.App.5th 945

223 Cal.Rptr.3d 350

IN RE CHARLES G., a Person coming under the Juvenile Court Law.The People, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.Charles G., Defendant and Appellant.

No. A149593

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 2, California.

Filed August 25, 2017

As Modified August 31, 2017

Jamie M. Weyand, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Eric D. Share, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Joan Killeen and Amit Kurlekar, Deputy Attorneys General for Plaintiff and Respondent.

STEWART, J.

Charles G. appeals from the juvenile court's jurisdictional order in a Welfare and Institutions section 602 proceeding. Charles argues that we should reverse the court's finding that he carried a concealed firearm in violation of Penal Code section 25400¹ as unlawful because that statute is preempted by a more specific statute that targets minors, section 29610, which the court also found he violated. Charles also argues there was insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court's finding that he willfully resisted, delayed, or obstructed a peace officer in that officer's discharge of his duties in violation of section 148.

We disagree that section 29610 preempts section 25400. We conclude the statutes prohibit different conduct and affirm the juvenile court's findings that Charles violated both statutes. We agree with Charles that there was insufficient evidence that he violated section 148 and therefore reverse this part of the court's ruling.

BACKGROUND

In December 2015, the Contra Costa County District Attorney filed a petition alleging Charles committed a felony violation of section 29610 for possession of a firearm by a minor; a felony violation of section 25400, subdivision (a)(2) for having a concealed firearm on his person; and a misdemeanor violation of section 148, subdivision (a)(1) for resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer in that officer's performance of his duties.

In August 2016, the juvenile court commenced a hearing regarding Charles's motion to suppress evidence under Welfare and Institutions Code section 700.1 and regarding jurisdiction. The court denied the section 700.1 motion and sustained all three counts, but subsequently granted Charles's motion to reduce the two firearm felony violations to misdemeanors. At a subsequent disposition hearing, the court committed Charles to Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility for a six-month regular program.

Charles subsequently filed a timely notice of appeal.

DISCUSSION

I.Section 29610 Does Not Preempt Section 25400, Subdivision (a)(2).

Charles first argues the juvenile court improperly found he violated both section 25400, subdivision (a)(2), which prohibits a person from carrying a concealed firearm, and section 29610, which prohibits a minor from possessing a firearm capable of concealment on his or her person. He contends the juvenile court should have found he violated section 29610 only because it is the more specific statute and, therefore, preempts section 25400, subdivision (a)(2).² The People agree with Charles that the statutes involve the same conduct, but argue that section 29610 does not preempt section 25400 because it does not prescribe lesser punishment. We do not further consider the parties' debate on this issue. We reject Charles's claim for a simple reason: a violation of section 29610 is not necessarily or commonly a violation of section 25400, subdivision (a)(2) and, therefore, section 29610 does not preempt section 25400, subdivision (a)(2).

A. General Legal Standards

" 'Questions of statutory interpretation are, of course, pure matters of law upon which we may exercise our independent judgment.' " ( In re Tobacco II Cases(2009) 46 Cal.4th 298, 311, 93 Cal.Rptr.3d 559, 207 P.3d 20.) "[I]f a general statute includes the same conduct as a special statute, the court infers that the Legislature intended that conduct to be prosecuted exclusively under the special statute." ( People v. Murphy(2011) 52 Cal.4th 81, 86, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216 ( Murphy ).) This " Williamson rule," first formulated in In re Williamson(1954) 43 Cal.2d 651, 654, 276 P.2d 593 ( Williamson ), is a rule of judicial interpretation that is designed to " 'ascertain and carry out legislative intent. The fact that the Legislature has enacted a specific statute covering much the same ground as a more general law is a powerful indication that the Legislature intended the specific provision alone to apply.' " ( Murphy, at p. 86, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.)

The Williamson rule is triggered "when 'it appears from the statutory context that a violation of the special statute will necessarily or commonly result in a violation of the general statute.' " ( Murphy, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 86, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.) On the other hand, we do not assume the Legislature intended to preclude prosecution under the general statute if it "contains an element that is not contained in the special statute, and that element would not commonly occur in the context of a violation of the special statute." ( Id.at p. 87, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.)

B. Analysis

Charles argues that "[l]ike the Murphy defendant, [he] was prosecuted under two statutes prohibiting similar conduct—the carrying of concealed firearms." This is patently untrue; the plain language of the two statutes makes clear they prohibit distinctly different conduct. Section 29610, states:

"A minor shall not possessa pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealedupon the person." (Italics added.) In other words, section 29610 only prohibits a minor's possession of a firearm, and the firearm need not be actually concealed.

On the other hand, section 25400, subdivision (a)(2), states in relevant part: "A person is guilty of carrying a concealed firearm when the person ... [c]arries concealedupon the person any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person." (Italics added.) Thus, while section 29610 involves a minor's possession of a firearm that is capable of being concealed, section 25400, subdivision (a)(2) requires that a person carry and conceal the firearm.³

The different conduct prohibited by the two statutes distinguishes the present circumstances from those discussed in Murphy. There, the defendant caused a stolen vehicle report to be filed with law enforcement based on her false report that her car had been stolen. ( Murphy, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 85, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.) She was later convicted of a felony violation of section 115, which prohibits the filing of a false "instrument" with the State. ( Murphy, at p. 85, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.) On appeal, she argued her prosecution under section 115 was precluded by two more specific statutes, including Vehicle Code section 10501, subdivision (a), which prohibits the filing of a false vehicle theft report with law enforcement. ( Murphy, at p. 85, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.)

The appellate court concluded that section 115 was a more general statute, as it applied "to a broader range of documents that may be filed in any public office" than did Vehicle Code section 10501. ( Murphy, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 88, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.) The main issue was whether a violation of Vehicle Code section 10501, the more specific statute, which prohibited the filing of a false "report," would necessarily or commonly violate section 115, the more general statute, which prohibited the filing of a false "instrument." ( Murphy, at p. 89, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.) The court concluded that regardless of the precise definition and formality of an "instrument," the filing of a false vehicle theft report in violation of Vehicle Code section 10501 would commonly result in a violation of Penal Code section 115. Accordingly, the court, applying the Williamson rule, inferred that "the Legislature, in specifying that such conduct constitutes a misdemeanor, intended to create an exception to the felony punishment specified in the more general statute." ( Murphy, at pp. 94–95, 127 Cal.Rptr.3d 78, 253 P.3d 1216.)

Here, it is not necessarily the case that section 29610 is the specific statute and section 25400, subdivision (a) the general one. Each addresses specific subject matter, as indicated by the headings under which it is placed in the Penal Code.⁴ Section 29610 is contained in a Penal Code article and chapter about a specific subject, i.e., minors'possession of handguns. It is within Division 9, entitled "Special Firearm Rules Relating to Particular Persons," which is within Title 4 ("Firearms") of Part 6 ("Control of Deadly Weapons") of the Penal Code. Title 4 also contains section 25400. Section 25400 also is in a division devoted to a more specific subject, "Carrying Firearms," and within a chapter and article that are about carrying a concealed firearm.

Nonetheless, assuming for the sake of argument that, as Charles argues, section 29610 is the more specific statute, the conduct prohibited by that statute and the conduct prohibited by section 25400 are not the same. The "possession" of a firearm by a minor that is prohibited by section 29610 could result in a violation of the prohibition against a person carrying a concealed firearm contained in section 25400, subdivision (a)(2), but we cannot say it would commonly do so. This is in part because possession is far broader than carrying. To "possess" a firearm means "having ' " 'actual control, care and management of' " ' " the firearm. ( People v. Hurtado(1996) 47 Cal.App.4th 805, 810, fn. 4, 54 Cal.Rptr.2d 853, quoting approvingly People v. Mijares(1971) 6 Cal.3d 415, 420, 99 Cal.Rptr. 139, 491 P.2d 1115 ; see also People v. Martin(2001) 25 Cal.4th 1180, 1186, 108 Cal.Rptr.2d 599, 25 P.3d 1081 [quoting Mijares ].) Possession...