R.H. v. State

• Citation: 2022 WY 33
• Decision Date: 08 March 2022
• Docket Number: S-21-0189
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Wyoming
• Parties: IN THE INTEREST OF: RH, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff).

2022 WY 33

IN THE INTEREST OF: RH, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff).

No. S-21-0189

Supreme Court of Wyoming

March 8, 2022

Appeal from the District Court of Albany County The Honorable Tori R.A. Kricken, Judge

Representing Appellant: Thomas B. Jubin, Jubin & Zerga LLC, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: Bridget L. Hill, Attorney General Jenny L. Craig, Deputy Attorney General; Joshua C. Eames, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Catherine M. Mercer, Assistant Attorney General.

Before FOX, C.J., and DAVIS ^[*] , KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, and GRAY, JJ.

FOX C.J., delivers the opinion of the Court; KAUTZ, J., files a specially concurring opinion.

FOX, CHIEF JUSTICE.

[¶1] The State filed a delinquency petition against RH when he was sixteen years old and thereafter agreed to a deferred prosecution. After RH successfully completed the terms of his deferral, the juvenile court dismissed the delinquency petition, and RH petitioned the court for expungement of his record pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-6-241 (LexisNexis 2021). The court concluded that RH was ineligible to have his record expunged because the delinquency petition charged him with a violent felony, and it denied the petition. We reverse.

ISSUE

[¶2] The sole issue is whether Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-6-241 allows expungement of a juvenile record where a delinquency petition was dismissed, but the delinquent act charged was a violent felony.

FACTS

[¶3] On June 18, 2019, sixteen-year-old RH and his twelve-year-old cousin were staying with their grandparents, who lived in Albany County, Wyoming. That evening they spent the night alone in an RV on the grandparents' property and played a game in which the loser had to remove an article of clothing. The game progressed to the point where both were nude and touching each other, and RH penetrated his cousin's vagina and anus with his penis. As a result, the State filed a delinquency petition against RH charging him with first degree sexual assault of a minor.

[¶4] Pursuant to a consent decree, the State agreed to defer the delinquency petition against RH, and he was placed on probation for one year.^[1] The consent decree provided that upon successful completion of the probationary period, the charges in the delinquency petition would be dismissed. RH successfully completed his probation, and the State moved to terminate the juvenile court's jurisdiction and to close and seal the file. The court granted that motion and ordered its jurisdiction terminated and the file closed and sealed.

[¶5] On April 22, 2021, RH petitioned to have the record of the juvenile delinquency proceedings against him expunged. As grounds for expungement, the petition asserted:

6. Petitioner has reached the age of majority, having turned 18 years old on March 13, 2021. He has not been convicted of any felony, nor is any proceeding involving a felony pending or being instituted against him.

7. Petitioner has been fully rehabilitated. He attended counseling and he wrote a heartfelt letter of apology. Petitioner has been attending school and is working to succeed academically. His mother reports that his anxiety attacks have abated and [RH] appears to be doing well. He continues to have counseling available on an as-needed basis. He is in the onboarding training process to work as a customer service representative. . . .

[¶6] The State objected to RH's petition for expungement. It contended that RH was statutorily ineligible to have the record of the dismissed delinquency petition against him expunged because the petition charged him with a violent felony. The juvenile court agreed and denied RH's petition. RH timely appealed the ruling to this Court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶7] Whether RH is eligible to have his juvenile record expunged depends on our interpretation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. 14-6-241. Questions of statutory interpretation are questions of law that we consider de novo. Matter of Adoption of ATWS, 2021 WY 62, ¶ 8, 486 P.3d 158, 160 (Wyo. 2021) (quoting Matter of Adoption of MAJB, 2020 WY 157, ¶¶ 9, 13, 478 P.3d 196, 200-01 (Wyo. 2020)).

DISCUSSION

[¶8] The Juvenile Justice Act allows for the expungement of juvenile records. It provides in relevant part:

(a) Any person adjudicated delinquent as a result of having committed a delinquent act other than a violent felony as defined by W.S. 6-1-104(a)(xii), under the provisions of this act may petition the court for the expungement of his record in the juvenile court upon reaching the age of majority. Any petition filed under this section shall be verified by the petitioner, served upon and reviewed by the prosecuting attorney, and no order granting expungement shall be issued prior to the expiration of twenty (20) days after service was made.

* * *

If an objection is filed and after investigation the court finds that the petitioner has not been convicted of a felony since adjudication, that no proceeding involving a felony is pending or being instituted against the petitioner and the rehabilitation of the petitioner has been attained to the satisfaction of the court or the prosecuting attorney, it shall order expunged all records in any format including electronic records in the custody of the court or any agency or official, pertaining to the petitioner's case.

* * *

Upon entry of an order the proceedings in the petitioner's case are deemed never to have occurred and the petitioner may reply accordingly upon any inquiry in the matter.

* * *

(d) The record of a minor admitted to a diversion program or granted a deferral pursuant to Wyoming statute may be expunged in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as provided in subsection (a) of this section by petition to the court ordering the diversion program or deferral.

(e)A record of arrest, charges or disposition of a minor resulting in dismissal, declined prosecution or otherwise not resulting in a conviction or an adjudication of delinquency or an adjudication of being a child in need of supervision may be expunged in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as provided in subsection (a) of this section by petition to the court.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-6-241 (LexisNexis 2021) (emphasis added).

[¶9] RH was not adjudicated delinquent, so if he is eligible to have his juvenile court record expunged, it is under either subsection 14-6-241(d), which applies to deferrals, or (e), which applies to dispositions resulting in dismissal. Subsections (d) and (e) each direct that the records "may be expunged in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as provided in subsection (a)." To determine RH's eligibility, we must therefore determine what is meant by the phrase, "subject to the same limitations as provided in subsection (a)."^[2] [¶10] "'When we interpret statutes, our goal is to give effect to the intent of the legislature, and we attempt to determine the legislature's intent based primarily on the plain and ordinary meaning of the words used in the statute.'" Orosco v. State, 2022 WY 15, ¶ 13, 503 P.3d 51, 55 (Wyo. 2022) (quoting EME Wyo., LLC v. BRW East, LLC, 2021 WY 64, ¶ 23, 486 P.3d 980, 987 (Wyo. 2021)). We have also said that while the plain language of a statute ultimately controls our interpretation, "[s]tatutes that provide for the care and discipline of juveniles are generally given a liberal and practical construction in favor of the child's welfare." Vaughn v. State, 2017 WY 29, ¶ 9, 391 P.3d 1086, 1091 (Wyo. 2017) (citing KP v. State, 2004 WY 165, ¶ 27, 102 P.3d 217, 225 (Wyo. 2004)). Our search for a statute's plain meaning is guided by the following:

We . . . construe each statutory provision in pari materia, giving effect to every word, clause, and sentence according to their arrangement and connection. To ascertain the meaning of a given law, we also consider all statutes relating to the same subject or having the same general purpose and strive to interpret them harmoniously. We presume that the legislature has acted in a thoughtful and rational manner with full knowledge of existing law, and that it intended new statutory provisions to be read in harmony with existing law and as part of an overall and uniform system of jurisprudence. When the words used convey a specific and obvious meaning, we need not go farther and engage in statutory construction.

Orosco, 2022 WY 15, ¶ 13, 503 P.3d at 55 (quoting EME, 2021 WY 64, ¶ 23, 486 P.3d at 987).

[¶11] Subsection 14-6-241(a) begins, "Any person adjudicated delinquent as a result of having committed a delinquent act other than a violent felony as defined by § 6-1-104(a)(xii), under the provisions of this act may petition the court for the expungement of his record in the juvenile court upon reaching the age of majority." The district court interpreted the first clause of this phrase to also apply to any person who petitions for expungement of a juvenile record under subsections (d) or (e). This would mean that if the act for which there is a record but no adjudication or conviction was a violent felony, the individual would not be eligible to have that record expunged. The district court reasoned:

The Court finds the language of Wyoming Statute § 14-6-241(a) unambiguous. The legislature clearly intended to be eligible for expungement of juvenile records only those petitioners who fall outside the limitations of subsection (a).

Those limitations include language prohibiting expungement of delinquent acts which would constitute a violent felony, even if the petitioner was not adjudicated as having committed the act and some other disposition occurred, as specified in subsections (d) and (e). Even without adjudication subsections (d) and (e) are subject to the violent felony exclusion included in subsect

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