State v. Moreno

• Decision Date: 20 February 2009
• Docket Number: No. 20070240.,20070240.
• Citation: 2009 UT 15,203 P.3d 1000
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Nicholas Frank MORENO, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

203 P.3d 1000

2009 UT 15

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Nicholas Frank MORENO, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 20070240.

Supreme Court of Utah.

February 20, 2009.

Mark L. Shurtleff, Att'y Gen., Joanne C. Slotnik, Asst. Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Randall C. Allen, Cedar City, for defendant.

On Certification from the Utah Court of Appeals

NEHRING, Justice:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 Nicholas Moreno appeals the juvenile court's denial of his motion to dismiss a contempt finding he received from the juvenile court. That court adjudicated his daughter delinquent for possession of marijuana and attempted possession of methamphetamine. The juvenile court also denied Mr. Moreno's motion to vacate his guilty plea to an earlier contempt charge made by the same court. Both contempt charges arose out of Mr. Moreno's failure to undergo drug testing, which the juvenile court ordered as part of his daughter's delinquency adjudication. The question before the juvenile court was whether it had jurisdiction to require a parent of a delinquent child to undergo drug testing in a delinquency proceeding. The juvenile court held that it had the power to order parents to submit to drug testing in the context of a child's delinquency adjudication because the Legislature empowered it to impose reasonable conditions on parents whose children were under the jurisdiction of the court. Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-117 (2008).¹ Mr. Moreno appealed, and we reverse.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 C.M., the juvenile daughter of Mr. Moreno, was adjudicated delinquent for possession of marijuana and attempted possession of methamphetamine. She was later sent to detention for violating the terms of her probation by testing positive for marijuana. As part of C.M.'s delinquency adjudication, the court ordered that her father, Mr. Moreno, complete a urinalysis and hair test for illegal drugs that same day. The court justified its decision to require Mr. Moreno to undergo drug testing with the following findings: (1) Mr. Moreno was considered a threat to law enforcement; (2) C.M.'s grandparents thought Mr. Moreno was an alcoholic (3) occasional domestic disturbances had occurred in the home; and (4) Mr. Moreno evaded the police on one occasion, although he was never charged. Additionally, because the police in Parowan, Utah, suspected that Mr. Moreno and his girlfriend, Karen Hardy, "may be cooking meth in the hills," the juvenile court also ordered Ms. Hardy to submit to drug testing. Ms. Hardy was a known drug user and had previously served time in prison on drug charges.

¶ 3 Mr. Moreno failed to appear for drug testing as ordered and was charged with contempt of court under Utah Code section 78A-6-1101. Mr. Moreno pled guilty, and the court stayed a fine of $300 and thirty days in jail on the condition that Mr. Moreno submit to future random drug tests. Mr. Moreno completed a drug test and tested negative for drug use. The court later insisted that Mr. Moreno submit to another random drug test, but Mr. Moreno refused. His refusal to complete drug testing caused the court to schedule a second contempt hearing, which Mr. Moreno did not attend. The Fifth District Juvenile Court issued a warrant for Mr. Moreno's arrest and reinstated the thirty-day jail term.

¶ 4 Mr. Moreno filed a motion to dismiss the second contempt charge and also moved to vacate his guilty plea to the earlier contempt charge. He argued that the juvenile court exceeded its narrow grant of jurisdiction over parents of children involved in delinquency hearings and that the court did not have jurisdiction to order him to submit to drug testing. Mr. Moreno also contended that under Utah Code section 78A-6-108(6), the juvenile court can only order a parent to complete physical testing in child custody hearings and child welfare cases. Alternately, he presented the argument that the order to submit to drug testing was not a "reasonable condition" that the juvenile court could impose under Utah Code section 78A-6-117(2)(p)(i) since it did not relate to conditions imposed on the minor and because the juvenile court had no reason to suspect that Mr. Moreno was abusing drugs. Finally, Mr. Moreno argued that drug testing violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.

¶ 5 The State countered that the juvenile court had jurisdiction to order Mr. Moreno to be drug tested as part of his daughter's delinquency proceeding. The State argued that the Legislature has granted the juvenile court broad authority to make "reasonable orders ... for the best interest of the minor" under section 78A-6-117(2)(t) and that the court's authority should be interpreted broadly. Accordingly, the State argued that the juvenile court's order requiring Mr. Moreno to submit to drug testing was reasonable.

¶ 6 The juvenile court denied both of Mr. Moreno's motions to dismiss, and he appealed. We have jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to Utah Code section 78A-3-102(3)(b) (2008).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7 Whether the juvenile court has subject matter jurisdiction over parents whose children are involved in delinquency proceedings is a question of law, which we review for correctness. K.S. v. S.H. (In re B.B.), 2002 UT App 82, ¶ 4, 45 P.3d 527. Determining whether the juvenile court's decision that imposing drug testing on Mr. Moreno was a reasonable condition requires us to construe the term reasonable as a matter of law. In issuing orders, however, the juvenile court is presented with a wide variety of potential fact patterns. In its call to both interpret reasonableness as a matter of law and consider the range of possible fact patterns, the question in this case is analogous to the review of whether a police stop was supported by probable cause. Where a court finds that under a particular set of facts there is probable cause to support a search, we review the court's decision as a question of law. State v. Chapman, 921 P.2d 446, 450 (Utah 1996). Although we review the court's decision for correctness, because of the numerous fact patterns that can occur, some deference is given to the lower court's ruling. Id. Because the question of whether a condition imposed on a parent by the juvenile court is similar to the question of whether probable cause was present, we will review the juvenile court's decision under the same standard of review.

ANALYSIS

¶ 8 Juvenile courts are created by statute, and their jurisdiction is limited to the power that is specifically conferred on them by the Legislature. Hardinger v. Scott (State ex rel. B.B.), 2004 UT 39, ¶ 13, 94 P.3d 252. Two provisions of the Juvenile Court Act give the court jurisdiction over parents in certain delinquency cases. The first provision is Utah Code section 78A-6-117(2)(p)(i), which gives the court power to "order reasonable conditions to be complied with by a minor's parents or guardian ... or any other person who has been made a party to the proceedings."² The second provision is Utah Code section 78A-6-117(2)(t), which specifies that "[t]he court may make any other reasonable orders for the best interest of the minor or as required for the protection of the public, except that a child may not be committed to jail or prison." These statutes reflect a legislative policy judgment to give juvenile courts broad authority with respect to the remedies ordered so long as they are in the best interest of the child.

¶ 9 By their plain language, these sections give the juvenile court subject matter jurisdiction over parents whose children are subject to delinquency proceedings and third parties associated with those children. Additionally, section 78A-6-1101(1) allows the juvenile court to require "[a]ny person who willfully violates or refuses to obey any order of the court" to be "proceeded against for contempt of court." Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-1101(1) (2008). The ability to hold "any person" in contempt clearly indicates that the juvenile court may exercise jurisdiction over adults.

¶ 10 Although subsections 78A-6-117(2)(p)(i) and (t) appear to grant the juvenile court extensive power, both provisions allowing the juvenile court to impose orders on parents are limited to mandates that are reasonable. The question that we answer today is whether the conditions imposed on Mr. Moreno were reasonable.

Under our rules of statutory construction, we look first to the statute's plain language to determine its meaning. We read [t]he plain language of a statute ... as a whole and interpret its provisions in harmony with other provisions in the same statute and with other statutes under the same and related chapters. We do so because a statute is passed as a whole and not in parts or sections and is animated by one general purpose and intent. Consequently, each part or section should be construed in connection with every other part or section so as to produce a harmonious whole.

Sill v. Hart, 2007 UT 45, ¶ 7, 162 P.3d 1099 (alteration and omission in original) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). By contrast, where statutory language is unclear, this court will interpret the ambiguous provision in a way that protects the public interest. Clover v. Snowbird Ski Resort, 808 P.2d 1037, 1045 (Utah 1991). Finally, "[i]n construing statutes, we are obligated to avoid interpretations that conflict with relevant constitutional mandates." State v. Mooney, 2004 UT 49, ¶ 12, 98 P.3d 420 (internal quotation marks omitted). In determining what types of juvenile court orders directed at parents are reasonable in a child delinquency proceeding and are therefore within the juvenile court's jurisdiction, we will bring to bear each of these rules of statutory construction.

I. PLAIN LANGUAGE, PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THE STATUTE, AND PUBLIC INTEREST

¶ 11 Reasonable is a term that by its ordinary meaning connotes flexibility and a range of permissible conduct. Thus, as used in section 78A-6-117, "reasonable" could permit the court to impose a wide range of orders on...