PEOPLE v. HENRY
Filed 6/8/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
| In re HENRY S., a Person Coming Under The Juvenile Court Law. |
|
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. HENRY S., Defendant and Appellant. |
F048791
(Super. Ct. No. 05CEJ600823-1)
O P I N I O N |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County, Dale Ikeda, Judge, transferred from Superior Court of Santa Barbara County, Thomas R. Adams, Jr., Judge.
Michael B. McPartland, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Mary Jo Graves, Assistant Attorney General, Louis M. Vasquez and Leslie W. Westmoreland, Deputies Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
The juvenile court found Henry S. a ward of the court and ordered the probation department to find him a suitable placement after he admitted leaving the scene of an accident and evading a police officer. (Veh. Code, §§ 20001, subd. (a), 2800.2, subd. (a).) On appeal, Henry contends the juvenile court violated his federal constitutional due process right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses before the juvenile court determined whether to treat him as a dependent child or delinquent ward. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 241.1.[1]) We conclude a minor does not have a due process right to a full evidentiary hearing on a section 241.1 determination and affirm the disposition.
BACKGROUND
According to probation records, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies arrested Henry's father for a parole violation on March 18, 2005, and arrested his mother pursuant to a warrant the next day. Aware 14-year-old Henry and his 10-year-old brother needed to be taken into protective custody, the deputies searched for the children where they had been living with their father. They found Henry driving his father's car, along with his younger brother riding as a passenger.
Henry refused to stop. The deputies chased him for 35 miles at speeds up to 85 miles per hour along Highway 217 and through the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. After the California Highway Patrol (CHP) continued the pursuit, Henry drove over a center island and rammed a CHP vehicle. He subsequently struck a second CHP vehicle, causing its airbag to deploy and the officer to sustain a neck injury requiring medical treatment. Henry continued driving until the CHP pinned Henry's car against a telephone pole.
The officers took Henry into custody. He admitted he knew his actions were dangerous and did not pull over because he â€
