Attorneys in the Juvenile Division of the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office represent youth who appear in 19 courtrooms in seven different courthouses throughout Los Angeles County. Every year in those courtrooms, our office represents youth who are charged with offenses that range in gravity from truancy to homicide. Our attorneys provide vigorous advocacy for their young clients from their first meeting, through-out the case preparation process, during contested hearings and adjudications, and up until the termination of the court’s jurisdiction.
In addition to investigating the charged allegations, lawyers also explore their clients’ backgrounds by discussing past histories of trauma, mental health, special education, substance abuse, and other important topics. Attorneys also work with Juvenile Division psychiatric social workers, resource attorneys, paralegals and investigators. These professionals provide services such as in-house psychosocial assessments, special education and regional center advocacy, and collection and synthesis of the youth’s medical, mental health, school and dependency records. The attorney then uses this information to provide a complete, holistic picture of the youth to the juvenile court bench officer so that if the petition against the youth is sustained, the bench officer can more fully understand the needs of the youth and the circumstances that may have contributed to the act that brought the youth to delinquency court.
Each year, the Juvenile Division of the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office hosts an annual training seminar for attorneys and youth advocates who work with youth in dependency and delinquency court. The Juvenile Division has hosted this seminar for over 40 years. The seminar usually draws approximately 325 attendees from private law offices and public defender offices around the state of California. Each year, the seminar presenters are chosen because they reflect the most current legal trends and knowledge in the field of juvenile justice and advocacy. In addition to excellent training, attendees receive continuing education hours and the latest version of an important legal manual, “A Practical Guide to Juvenile Delinquency Law” written by our office’s juvenile appellate specialist, Michael Theberge.
The Juvenile Services Division of the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office will host the 42nd Annual Youth Defender & Advocate Training Seminar (formerly the Juvenile Delinquency Law Seminar or Dog Book Seminar) on Friday, April 26th (Social Workers Only), and Saturday, April 27th, 2024, at Loyola Law School. The event is co-hosted by Loyola Law School’s Center for Juvenile Law & Policy, the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center, and California Defense Social Workers.
An e-copy of the “A Practical Guide to Juvenile Delinquency Law (Dog Book) is included.
All sessions are MCLE certified.
The Office of the Public Defender continues to be actively involved in Juvenile Mental Health Court (JMHC). JMHC, which began operating in October 2001, is a comprehensive, judicially-monitored program for juvenile offenders with diagnosed mental health disorders or learning disabilities and whose crimes demonstrate a link to the disorder or disability. A collaborative inter-agency team consisting of a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, consulting psychiatrist and psychologist from UCLA, and an educational consultant/advocate develops an individualized case plan for each eligible youth referred to JMHC. The plan includes home, family, therapeutic, educational and adult transition services. A deputy public defender with the assistance of psychiatric social workers advocates on behalf of the youth to secure mental health services from all available community resources.
The deputy public defender works with the family, local mental health organizations, school districts, the Regional Center system, the Probation Department, and DCFS to obtain for the youth every benefit to which he or she is legally entitled. Implementation of the plan is monitored intensively on an ongoing basis for one to two years or as long as the youth remains on probation. One goal of JMHC is to reduce recidivism in the mentally ill population.
Juvenile Drug Treatment Court attempts to resolve underlying problems of drug and alcohol abuse and is built upon a unique partnership between the juvenile justice community and drug treatment advocates. The courtroom atmosphere is non-adversarial, with a dedicated team of court officers and staff, including deputy public defenders who strive together to break the cycle of addiction. The Los Angeles County Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Programs are supervised, comprehensive treatment programs for youths. The programs are comprised of youths in both pre-adjudication and post-adjudication stages of the delinquency proceedings.
Upon a finding of eligibility and suitability, the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court judge provisionally accepts the youth into the Juvenile Drug Court Treatment Program. After the youth is accepted into the program, deputy public defenders continue representation throughout the youth’s participation in Drug Court program. Successful completion and graduation will result in the dismissal of charges in the pre-adjudication program and the termination of probation in the post-adjudication program. Failure or dismissal from the program will result in the reinstatement of criminal (delinquency) charges and subsequent prosecution on the pre-adjudicated charges or continuation on probation on the post-adjudication charges. Success in the Juvenile Drug Court Treatment Program is not solely measured by the number of graduates from the program, but rather whether the curriculum favorably impacted the youths to the extent that they are now considered drug-free.
There are four Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts in Los Angeles County, one in each of the following courthouse locations: Sylmar, Lancaster, Eastlake and Inglewood.
The Law Offices of the Los Angeles Public Defender publishes a practical guide to Juvenile Delinquency Law. This publication contains a summary of California juvenile delinquency law and is updated annually. For over thirty-eight (38) years the cover of the publication has contained the image of a Saint Bernard. The publication is thus commonly known as the “Dog Book.”
To purchase a copy of the “2020 Dog Book” please contact Sandy Contreras Rodriguez at (213) 974-3009 or via email: Scontreras2@pubdef.lacounty.gov
You may also complete the form (2020 Dog Book Order Form) and send it with a check made payable to “County of Los Angeles” in the amount of $35 + city sales tax rate of the city where the book will be delivered. Rates can be found here: https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/rates.aspx.
Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office
CSF Criminal Justice Center
210 West Temple Street, 19th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Attention: Fiscal Services
Thank you for your support.
CLIENT ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATION AND EVALUATION (CARE) PROJECT
In 1999, the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender’s Office implemented its Client Assessment Recommendation and Evaluation (CARE) Project, one of the nation’s first holistic advocacy programs. The CARE Project focuses on early intervention with youth in delinquency court by addressing the cluster of underlying causes of delinquent behavior such as mental illness, intellectual disability, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, and trauma. By referring clients for evaluation, identification and intervention at the pre-trial stage, the Public Defender focuses on abating the behaviors that prompted the filing of the juvenile petition in these cases. Members of the CARE Project team are able to provide the court with a better assessment of the youth’s needs, present tailored recommendations for appropriate conditions of care and identify resources that will assist the child and family. This approach enables the court to make orders that will foster accountability by both the youth and the juvenile delinquency system.
A 2017 Resource Development Associates report found: (1) CARE clients who received extended services have significantly less subsequent contact with the juvenile justice system, and (2) CARE services appear to successfully help clients obtain desired dispositional outcomes. Over the past decade, the court has adopted 77% of the disposition recommendations. Judicial officers have stated that the evaluations are invaluable in making the courts better equipped to identify youth with emotional or developmental issues. Channeling select resources to at-risk youth has proven effective in assisting them deal with challenges faced outside the courtroom and beyond detention, ultimately reducing recidivism.
Resource Attorneys and Psychiatric Social Workers
Begun in 1999 with three attorneys, the Public Defender’s CARE Project is now looked upon as the gold standard for such programs. CARE operates within all seven juvenile branches of the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.
Psychiatric social workers assess a juvenile client’s abilities and deficits to determine the youth’s special needs whether developmental, emotional, or psychological. Thereafter, a Deputy Public Defender may share the psychosocial assessment with the court. The information plays a key role in individualizing and humanizing each youth for busy bench officers who may not otherwise be provided insight of such depth. Based on the assessment, an individualized treatment plan – whether formal or informal – is created to address the issues that put the youth at risk for delinquent behavior with the aim of significantly reducing the likelihood of recidivism. The psychiatric social workers also provide consultation services which include early intervention to identify needed services, referrals to community resources, client support during the court process, advocating for youth in their school systems, and recommendations for disposition plans in difficult cases. Social workers may also appear alongside resource attorneys at meetings and hearings in court, school districts and at Regional Centers.
Resource attorneys advocate on behalf of juvenile clients to assure accountability by various outside agencies that are legally obligated to provide services addressing the youth’s educational and mental health needs. For example, our resource attorneys appear at Individual Education Plan meetings, handle enrollment issues, expulsion proceedings and a myriad of administrative hearings at schools to ensure youth receive appropriate special education services. Resource attorneys advocate at Regional Centers for eligibility and services, including handling all stages of the appeal proceedings.
Resource attorneys also garner Department of Mental Health entitlements for their juvenile clients and provide consultation for other Deputy Public Defenders on complicated cases involving children coming from the Dependency Court system.
CARE – AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
The Public Defender’s Office assigns an attorney and social worker to work with youth committed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) both pre- and post-disposition. The DJJ Unit serves clients currently housed at DJJ institutions throughout the state, consults on cases where a DJJ disposition is being sought, represents DJJ youth released on reentry supervision pursuant to the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2010 (Assembly Bill 1628), serves on the Juvenile Justice Task Force, and represents all youth who have been committed to DJJ, irrespective of their prior representation, to seek relief from the collateral consequences of their DJJ commitment by applying for rehabilitated youth’s Honorable Discharge (Senate Bill 625), relief from sex registration (Senate Bill 394) and filing motions to dismiss pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) section 782.
The DJJ Unit was established following the implementation of Senate Bill (SB) 459 in 2004, which required DJJ to comply with case planning requirements and regular reporting to the courts and WIC 779, allowing courts to modify or recall DJJ commitments. The DJJ Unit monitors, advocates for, and visits approximately 50 public defender clients currently committed to DJJ which includes: monitoring the conditions at each of the State’s Youth Correctional Facilities at Ventura, Stockton and Pine Grove; remaining updated on the current programming available at the facilities and the related legislation pertaining to DJJ; advocating for our client’s educational and mental health treatment while at DJJ, and filing WIC 779 petitions in Juvenile Court on behalf of our clients who are no longer benefitting from the rehabilitation available at DJJ. The DJJ Unit attorney can file 779 motions in the sentencing court arguing for the removal of clients from DJJ due to lack of rehabilitation services or in the alternative, request that the Court order DJJ to provide services if DJJ is failing to provide adequate rehabilitation programs or services.
The DJJ Unit staff prepares youth for reentry while at the CDCR institutions and represents youth once they are released. The DJJ Unit staff represents youth at their reentry hearings at Eastlake Juvenile Court, at which time the court sets the terms and conditions of probation. The DJJ Unit staff continue to represent the youth’s rights at all court appearances, including progress reports, and probation violation hearings. They advocate for necessary services such as housing, transportation and any other needs the youth may require. For example, they assist DJJ reentry youth in forming a relapse prevention plan, locating community based organizations that provide treatment and housing, and other services that may include job training and educational opportunities which are needed for successful reintegration into the community.
The DJJ Unit attorney also assists juvenile attorneys throughout the county whose clients face DJJ commitments by helping the attorneys prepare for contested dispositions, educating attorneys on current conditions and programs available at DJJ, negotiating Transfer withdrawals for DJJ, and advising on legal issues relating to DJJ commitments.
JUVENILE JUSTICE TASKFORCE
The DJJ Unit attorney is an active member of the Juvenile Justice Task Force, a collaborative group of stakeholders committed to ensuring that the reentry needs of DJJ youth are met. Currently, the DJJ task force is comprised of juvenile justice partners from the Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles County Probation, Los Angeles Mayor’s Office for Reentry, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Women of Substance & Men of Honor, Reentry Coordinators, Board of Juvenile Hearing Officers, Intake and Court Liaison’s from CDCR’s DJJ.
HONORABLE DISCHARGE
Recent legislation (SB 625), authorizes an award of Honorable Discharge (HD) to be made by the Board Juvenile Hearings (BJH). The Public Defender’s Office’s DJJ Unit worked closely with the author and stakeholders in the design and drafting of SB 625 and now assists eligible DJJ reentry youth apply for an HD. A grant of honorable discharge will allow a youth to be free from employment, housing and licensing restrictions and can be the first step on a youth’s path to apply for a dismissal, sealing and/or Penal Code section 290 sex registration removal.
The newly restored process for HD includes the following main features:
PENAL CODE SECTION 290 REGISTRATION REMOVAL FOR YOUTH COMMITTED TO DJJ ON A SEX OFFENSE
SB 384, effective, January 1, 2021, established two tiers of registration for periods of five or 10 years for juveniles committed to DJJ for specified sex offenses.
A tier two juvenile offender “is subject to registration for a minimum of 10 years.” A person is a tier two juvenile offender if the person is required to register after being adjudicated as a ward of the court and discharged or paroled from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for an offense listed in subdivision (c) that is a serious or violent felony as described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7.
DISMISSAL IN THE INTERESTS OF JUSTICE (WIC 782)
In select cases, the Judge of the Juvenile Court in which a petition was filed may dismiss the petition, or may set aside the findings and dismiss the petition, if the court finds that the interests of justice and the welfare of the person who is the subject of the petition require that dismissal, or if it finds that he or she is not in need of treatment or rehabilitation. The court has jurisdiction to order dismissal or setting aside of the findings and dismissal regardless of whether the person who is the subject of the petition is, at the time of the order, a ward or dependent child of the court. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require the court to maintain jurisdiction over a person who is the subject of a petition between the time the court’s jurisdiction over that person terminates and the point at which his or her petition is dismissed (WIC 782.)
What happens when someone under the age of 18 is charged with a crime?
A youth who is charged with committing a crime, with habitual truancy, or with incorrigibility (repeated disruptive behavior, such as running away from home), comes under the jurisdiction of the juvenile delinquency court. After a youth is arrested, the police may release the youth to a parent and issue a citation to return to court at a future date, or the police may transport the youth to juvenile hall. The police then submit a report of the incident to the District Attorney’s Office or the Probation Department for informal diversion depending on the crime. If the District Attorney’s Office decides to charge the youth with a crime, then a delinquency petition is filed, and the matter is set for arraignment in juvenile court.
At the arraignment, an attorney is appointed to represent the youth. The court will order the probation department to prepare a report which details the youth’s alleged crime, the youth’s history at home and at school, and makes a recommendation on what level of supervision the court should impose. The court will set the next court date, a pretrial or pre plea hearing. If the matter is not resolved at the next court date, the case is set for adjudication–a trial by the bench officer. There are no jury trials in juvenile court.
If the charges are admitted or found true at adjudication, a disposition hearing is held. At the disposition hearing, the court decides what level of supervision to impose. The court could order that the youth be supervised informally, be returned home on probation, be sent to a group home, be sent to a county-run juvenile camp for a commitment of less than a year, or in extreme cases, be sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice for a commitment that can last until age 25.
Throughout the proceedings, a youth is represented by a lawyer appointed by the court. This lawyer is usually a public defender. As in adult criminal court, if there is a conflict of interest between the youth and some other youth or adult which makes it improper for the Public Defender to represent the youth, the court will appoint other counsel. If the youth is represented by a Deputy Public Defender, that attorney will have the benefit of the input of resource attorneys and psychiatric social workers employed by the Public Defender to assist the attorney in presenting treatment plans to the court.
There is no bail system for juveniles. If your child has been taken into custody, the first opportunity for them to be released is the detention hearing, which must take place the 2nd or 3rd business day after their arrest, depending on the charge and the time of arrest. The court will keep a youth in custody if it finds that the youth is a danger to themselves or to others, based on the charge and any additional information presented at the hearing. The Public Defender will advocate for your child to be released.
The court will want to know how your child is doing at home and at school. If they are not a problem at home or at school, the court may be more inclined to release them. Documents such as report cards, or pay stubs if the youth is working, can help show that they are generally responsible, and the crime charged is out of character for them.
If your child is struggling with drug abuse, school, or mental health problems, it is important to let your child’s attorney know, and show them any records you have related to these issues. The Public Defender can assist with referrals to community resources to help your child. If we can set up services early in the case, then the court may feel there is less need to keep your child in juvenile hall, or less need to formally supervise your child as a ward of the court.
If the case involves a felony committed after age 16, the district attorney may petition the juvenile court to transfer a youth’s case to adult criminal court. This would typically only happen if the crime involves extreme violence or if the youth is already close to the age limit for juvenile court (21, 23, or 25, depending on the offense). The district attorney has the burden of showing that there is not enough time left to rehabilitate the youth in juvenile court.
If the youth is represented by the Public Defender, a psychiatric social worker, resource attorney, and paralegal may be assigned to work on the case. For the transfer hearing, it is extremely important to have a complete history of the youth’s family life, education, mental health history, and prior juvenile dependency and delinquency court involvement. In making the determination of whether a youth should be transferred, the bench officer will take into consideration five criteria: (1) the degree of criminal sophistication exhibited by the youth, (2) whether the youth can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction, (3) the youth’s previous delinquent history, (4) the success of previous attempts by the juvenile court to rehabilitate the youth, and (5) the circumstances and gravity of the offense alleged in the petition to have been committed by the youth. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 707)
How do I seal my juvenile record?
If you complete informal diversion successfully with the Probation Department, then no case is ever filed, and the Probation Department will seal its records and notify the police agency that arrested you to seal their records. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 786.5) If a case is filed, but the charge is dismissed, then the court automatically seals your record. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 786) If your charge is found true, but it is not a serious offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code § 707(b), then if the court finds you have attained satisfactory completion of probation, the court automatically seals your record. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 786) If your charge is found true and it is a serious offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code §707(b) that was committed after you turned 14, or if the court terminated your probation even though you did not attain satisfactory completion of probation, then you have to return at a later time to show that you have been rehabilitated and ask the court to seal your record. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 781) You initiate that process by submitting a sealing application at the Probation Department office in your juvenile court.
Once your record has been sealed, your charge is treated as if it never happened. Generally, when you apply for jobs, employers may not ask you about your juvenile court history, whether it is sealed or not. (Labor Code § 432.7) Juvenile adjudications do not count as convictions. (Welfare and Institutions Code § 203) If a job application asks if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you may truthfully answer “no” if you have sustained juvenile charges, but no convictions in adult criminal court. Likewise, most college applications do not ask about juvenile case history, only criminal court convictions, or school disciplinary history (suspensions and expulsions). If you are seeking a position in law enforcement or the military, be aware that those entities may always ask about your juvenile case history, even if it has been sealed. If that is your goal, you should notify your attorney, because some juvenile charges can make it illegal for you to possess a firearm, which would also interfere with that goal.
How do I apply for emancipation?
Emancipation: A person under 18 years is an emancipated youth if any of the following conditions is satisfied: