Amended  IN  Senate  May 15, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 545

Introduced by Senator Rubio
(Coauthor: Senator Wahab)

February 15, 2023

An act to add Section 707.3 to amend Sections 707 and 707.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 545, as amended, Rubio. Juveniles: transfer to court of criminal jurisdiction.
Existing law, as amended by the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, enacted by Proposition 57 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes the district attorney to make a motion to transfer a minor from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction in a case in which a minor is alleged to have committed a felony when the minor was 16 years of age or older, or in a case in which a specified serious offense is alleged to have been committed by a minor when the minor was 14 or 15 years of age, but the minor was not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction. The act may be amended by a majority vote of the members of each house of the Legislature if the amendments are consistent with and further the intent of the act. Existing law requires the court to find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation when under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court court, after consideration of specified criteria, in order to find that the minor should be transferred to a court of criminal jurisdiction, and requires the order reciting the court’s basis for its decision to transfer jurisdiction to include the reasons supporting the court’s finding that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.

This bill would prohibit the juvenile court, if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person against whom the child is accused of committing the offense, trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor before the commission of the offense, from transferring the matter to a court of criminal jurisdiction. The bill would require the criminal court to transfer a case back to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court if evidence regarding the minor’s status as a victim was not available or argued before the transfer hearing and the criminal court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person against whom the child is accused of committing the offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor. By increasing the number of minors retained under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, thereby increasing the number of minors who are entitled to county-funded rehabilitative services, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would specify additional factors that the juvenile court can consider when evaluating the minor’s criminal sophistication when determining whether to transfer a matter to a court of criminal jurisdiction. The bill would require the court to consider evidence offered that indicates that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor when considering the circumstances and gravity of the offense alleged in the petition to have been committed by the minor.
Existing law authorizes a person whose case was transferred from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction to file a motion to return the case to juvenile court for disposition under specified circumstances, including, among others, when the person is convicted at trial only of an offense that was not the basis for transfer from juvenile court to the criminal court, as specified.
The bill would require a court of criminal jurisdiction to return a case to juvenile court for disposition pursuant to these provisions if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor. By increasing the number of minors that may be retained under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, thereby increasing the number of minors who are entitled to county-funded rehabilitative services, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.Section 707.3 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
707.3.

(a)If the juvenile court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor, the court shall not transfer the matter to the court of criminal jurisdiction pursuant to Section 707.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, if evidence pertaining to the minor’s status as a victim as described in subdivision (a) was not available or argued before the transfer hearing held pursuant to Section 707, the criminal court shall transfer the matter back to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court if the criminal court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor.

(c)This section shall be construed as prioritizing the successful treatment and rehabilitation of minor sex crime victims who commit acts of violence against their abusers. It is the intent of the Legislature that these minors be viewed as victims and provided treatment and services in the juvenile or family court system.

SECTION 1.

 Section 707 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

707.
 (a) (1) In any case in which a minor is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation, when the minor was 16 years of age or older, of any offense listed in subdivision (b) or any other felony criminal statute, the district attorney or other appropriate prosecuting officer may make a motion to transfer the minor from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction. The motion shall be made prior to the attachment of jeopardy. Upon the motion, the juvenile court shall order the probation officer to submit a report on the behavioral patterns and social history of the minor. The report shall include any written or oral statement offered by the victim pursuant to Section 656.2.
(2) In any case in which an individual is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation, when the individual was 14 or 15 years of age, of any offense listed in subdivision (b), but was not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction, the district attorney or other appropriate prosecuting officer may make a motion to transfer the individual from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction. The motion shall be made prior to the attachment of jeopardy. Upon the motion, the juvenile court shall order the probation officer to submit a report on the behavioral patterns and social history of the individual. The report shall include any written or oral statement offered by the victim pursuant to Section 656.2.
(3) Following submission and consideration of the report, and of any other relevant evidence that the petitioner or the minor may wish to submit, the juvenile court shall decide whether the minor should be transferred to a court of criminal jurisdiction. In order to find that the minor should be transferred to a court of criminal jurisdiction, the court shall find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. In making its decision, the court shall consider the criteria specified in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive. If the court orders a transfer of jurisdiction, the court shall recite the basis for its decision in an order entered upon the minutes, which shall include the reasons supporting the court’s finding that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. In any case in which a hearing has been noticed pursuant to this section, the court shall postpone the taking of a plea to the petition until the conclusion of the transfer hearing, and a plea that has been entered already shall not constitute evidence at the hearing.
(A) (i) The degree of criminal sophistication exhibited by the minor.
(ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court may give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the minor’s age, maturity, intellectual capacity, and physical, mental, and emotional health at the time of the alleged offense, offense; the minor’s impetuosity or failure to appreciate risks and consequences of criminal behavior, behavior; the effect of familial, adult, or peer pressure on the minor’s actions, and actions; the effect of the minor’s family and community environment and childhood trauma environment, childhood trauma, the minor’s involvement in the child welfare or foster care system, and the status of the minor as a victim of human trafficking, sexual abuse, or sexual battery on the minor’s criminal sophistication.
(B) (i) Whether the minor can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction.
(ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court may give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the minor’s potential to grow and mature.
(C) (i) The minor’s previous delinquent history.
(ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court may give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the seriousness of the minor’s previous delinquent history and the effect of the minor’s family and community environment and childhood trauma on the minor’s previous delinquent behavior.
(D) (i) Success of previous attempts by the juvenile court to rehabilitate the minor.
(ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court may give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the adequacy of the services previously provided to address the minor’s needs.
(E) (i) The circumstances and gravity of the offense alleged in the petition to have been committed by the minor.
(ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court may give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the actual behavior of the person, the mental state of the person, the person’s degree of involvement in the crime, the level of harm actually caused by the person, and the person’s mental and emotional development.
(iii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the court shall consider evidence offered that indicates that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually batter the minor.
(b) This subdivision is applicable to any case in which a minor is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation of one of the following offenses:
(1) Murder.
(2) Arson, as provided in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 451 of the Penal Code.
(3) Robbery.
(4) Rape with force, violence, or threat of great bodily harm.
(5) Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm.
(6) A lewd or lascivious act as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 288 of the Penal Code.
(7) Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm.
(8) An offense specified in subdivision (a) of Section 289 of the Penal Code.
(9) Kidnapping for ransom.
(10) Kidnapping for purposes of robbery.
(11) Kidnapping with bodily harm.
(12) Attempted murder.
(13) Assault with a firearm or destructive device.
(14) Assault by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
(15) Discharge of a firearm into an inhabited or occupied building.
(16) An offense described in Section 1203.09 of the Penal Code.
(17) An offense described in Section 12022.5 or 12022.53 of the Penal Code.
(18) A felony offense in which the minor personally used a weapon described in any provision listed in Section 16590 of the Penal Code.
(19) A felony offense described in Section 136.1 or 137 of the Penal Code.
(20) Manufacturing, compounding, or selling one-half ounce or more of a salt or solution of a controlled substance specified in subdivision (e) of Section 11055 of the Health and Safety Code.
(21) A violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, which also would constitute a felony violation of subdivision (b) of Section 186.22 of the Penal Code.
(22) Escape, by the use of force or violence, from a county juvenile hall, home, ranch, camp, or forestry camp in violation of subdivision (b) of Section 871 if great bodily injury is intentionally inflicted upon an employee of the juvenile facility during the commission of the escape.
(23) Torture as described in Sections 206 and 206.1 of the Penal Code.
(24) Aggravated mayhem, as described in Section 205 of the Penal Code.
(25) Carjacking, as described in Section 215 of the Penal Code, while armed with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
(26) Kidnapping for purposes of sexual assault, as punishable in subdivision (b) of Section 209 of the Penal Code.
(27) Kidnapping as punishable in Section 209.5 of the Penal Code.
(28) The offense described in subdivision (c) of Section 26100 of the Penal Code.
(29) The offense described in Section 18745 of the Penal Code.
(30) Voluntary manslaughter, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 192 of the Penal Code.

SEC. 2.

 Section 707.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

707.5.
 (a) In any case in which a person is transferred from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction pursuant to Section 707, upon conviction or entry of a plea, the person may, under the circumstances described in subdivision (b), request the criminal court to return the case to the juvenile court for disposition.
(b) Upon motion by the person, the criminal court shall have the authority to return the case to juvenile court for disposition in the following circumstances:
(1) If the person is convicted at trial in criminal court solely of a misdemeanor or misdemeanors, upon request by the defense, the case shall be returned to juvenile court, as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e).
(2) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor, the case shall be returned to juvenile court, as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e). This paragraph shall be construed to prioritize the successful treatment and rehabilitation of minor victims of human trafficking and sex crimes who commit acts of violence against their abusers. It is the intent of the Legislature that these minors be viewed as victims and provided treatment and services in the juvenile or family court system.

(2)

(3) If any of the allegations in the juvenile court petition that were the basis for transfer involved an offense listed in subdivision (b) of Section 707, and the person is convicted at trial in criminal court only of felony offenses that are not listed in subdivision (b) of Section 707, or a combination of such felony offenses and misdemeanors, upon request by the defense, the court shall have the discretion to return the case to juvenile court for further proceedings pursuant to subdivision (c).

(3)

(4) If the allegations in the juvenile court petition that were the basis for transfer involved only offenses not listed in subdivision (b) of Section 707, and pursuant to a plea agreement the person pleads guilty only to a misdemeanor or misdemeanors, or if any of the allegations in the juvenile court petition that were the basis for transfer involved an offense listed in subdivision (b) of Section 707, and pursuant to a plea agreement the person pleads guilty only to a misdemeanor or misdemeanors, felony offenses that are not listed in subdivision (b) of Section 707, or a combination of such felony offenses and misdemeanors, upon agreement and request of the parties, and subject to the approval of the court, the case shall be returned to juvenile court for further proceedings pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c) In determining whether the case should be returned to juvenile court pursuant to paragraph (2) (3) of subdivision (b), or in determining whether to approve the agreement pursuant to paragraph (3) (4) of subdivision (b), the court shall make a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a juvenile disposition is in the interests of justice and the welfare of the person, and shall so state on the minute order with the specific reasons for making that finding. In making the determination, the court shall consider the transcript and minute order of the transfer hearing, the time that the person has served in custody, the dispositions and services available to the person in the juvenile court, and any relevant evidence submitted by either party. A case that is ordered returned to juvenile court shall comply with subdivisions (d) and (e).
(d) Upon determining that the case shall be returned to the juvenile court, the court shall return the entire case to the juvenile court and the matter shall be calendared within two court days.
(e) The juvenile court shall order the probation department to prepare a social study on the questions of the proper disposition, and the case shall proceed to disposition as set forth in Sections 702, 706, 706.5, and 730, and Article 18 (commencing with Section 725), as applicable. A conviction or guilty plea that is returned to juvenile court shall be considered an adjudication or admission before the juvenile court for all purposes.
(f) The clerk of the criminal court shall report the return to juvenile court to the probation department, the law enforcement agency that arrested the minor for the offense, and the Department of Justice. The clerk of the criminal court shall deliver to the clerk of the juvenile court all copies of the minor’s record in criminal court and shall obliterate the person’s name for any index maintained in the criminal court. The clerk of the juvenile court shall maintain the criminal court records as provided by Article 22 (commencing with Section 825) until such time as the juvenile court may issue an order that the records be sealed.

SEC. 2.SEC. 3.

 To the extent that this act has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new program or higher level of service provided by a local agency pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state or otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.