Tatiana B., a Minor

THE PEOPLE, Respondent, v. TATIANA B., Appellant IN RE TATIANA B. A PERSON COMING UNDER THE JUVENILE COURT LAW No. S077821 C.A. 2nd., Div. 7, No. B122949 California Supreme Court Filed May 26, 1999

        Petition for review DENIED.
        The Reporter of Decisions is directed not to publish in the Official Appellate Reports the opinion in the above entitled appeal filed February 25, 1999, which appears at 70 Cal.App.4th 794. (Cal. Const., art. VI, section 14; rule 976, Cal. Rules of Court.)



(Editor Note - For your convenience we reprint below the Daily Journal's Ruling Column brief that summarized the earlier decision of the lower court).


JUVENILES

To declare wardship for minor under age 14, trial court must expressly find that she appreciates wrongfulness of her act.

        The C.A. 2nd has decided that the trial court had to have made an inquiry and an express finding, that a minor under the age of 14 understood her act was wrong, before declaring a wardship.
        Tatiana B. was 12 years old and attended Gompers Junior High School. When an unnamed student told Gompers officials that Tatiana carried a knife in her backpack, a campus aide conducted a search. A stainless steel steak knife was found in Tatiana's backpack. She explained that she carried the knife because other female students had threatened her. However, her mother was unaware of the threats. Tatiana had no prior criminal history and her mother claimed she was well behaved. According to the probation officer, Tatiana's behavior was surprising. She had apparently tried to solve her own problems at school and exercised poor judgment in dealing with the threats. During her appearance at trial court, Tatiana acknowledged that she knew having the knife was against school rules. She also stated that she heard one classmate tell another that, "I am going to kill her over there." When Tatiana asked if the girl was referring to her, the girl stated, "Yeah, you." Tatiana also admitted that she had carried a knife on school grounds. Finding that Tatiana's admission was intelligently, knowingly, and voluntarily made, she was declared a "ward of the court," pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 602.
        The C.A. 2nd vacated and remanded. Penal Code Section 26 provides that a minor under 14 years of age is presumed to be incapable of committing a crime. Section 26 applies to orders of wardship pursuant to Section 602. In order to rebut the presumption in Section 26, the state must show, by clear and convincing evidence, that the minor knew her act was wrong at the time she committed that act. Wardships should not be declared absent an express finding by the trial court that the minor under age 14 appreciated the wrongfulness of her conduct. "Strong policy reasons cast doubt upon the placement of a child who is unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of h[er] conduct with an institution where [s]he will come into contact with many youths who are well versed in criminality." Here, Tatiana's admission that she knew she was breaking school rules was insufficient to rebut the Section 26 presumption. In order to have determined whether or not Tatiana appreciated the wrongfulness of her act, at the time of her act, the trial court should have made an express inquiry on the record.

        Tatiana B., a Minor, C.A. 2nd, No. B122949, Filed February 25, 1999, by Lillie, J.
        The full text of this case appears in 99 Daily Journal D.A.R. 2323, March 12, 1999.