Fear Not Law Articles: In re JEFFREY M.,

In re JEFFREY M.,

Filed 7/28/06

CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION^*

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

In re JEFFREY M., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

JEFFREY M.,

Defendant and Respondent;

MARIA M.,

Objector and Appellant.

F048648

(Super. Ct. No. 26423)

OPINION

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Merced County. Thomas S. Burr, Commissioner.

George Bond, Executive Director, and Sandra T. Uribe, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Objector and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Mary Jo Graves, Assistant Attorney General, Catherine Chatman and Julie A. Hokans, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

No appearance for Defendant and Respondent.

-ooOoo-

Procedural and Factual HistoRIES

This appeal raises an issue of first impression regarding the interpretation of Welfare and Institutions Code ^[1] section 730.7, which imposes joint and several parental liability for restitution orders made by the juvenile court in delinquency proceedings.

In a delinquency proceeding involving appellant Maria M.'s son Jeffrey, the juvenile court ordered Maria jointly and severally liable for restitution to the victim of Jeffrey's offense in the amount of $5,351.99. Jeffrey, who was age 17 years at the time of the offense, but 18 at the time of the disposition order, entered a plea of no contest to battery on a peace officer. The offense occurred when an officer supervising a school dance placed a hand on Jeffrey's shoulder, asking him to go with the deputy to the front office to call Maria, because it was time for Jeffrey to leave the dance. (Jeffrey was on probation for an earlier offense and had a 10:00 p.m. curfew.) Jeffrey pulled away, causing the officer to lose his balance and fall, injuring his ring finger.

At the hearing set to determine restitution, the juvenile court informed Maria that it needed to decide the legal issue of â€

Description	Where minor committed battery but turned 18 before restitution order requiring payment to victim was made in juvenile proceedings, Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 730.7--which imposes joint and several parental liability where a minor is ordered to make restitution--applies. Date of the offense is the operative date for Sec. 730.7 purposes.
Rating	0/5 1 2 3 4 5 0/5 based on 0 votes.