In re G.A. CA2/6

Filed 10/11/24 In re G.A. CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

In re G.A., a Person Coming 2d Juv. No. B330060 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Super. Ct. No. NJ30329) (Los Angeles County)

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

G.A.,

Defendant and Appellant.

G.A., a minor, appealed a May 1, 2023, $3,347.45 restitution order. On June 6, 2023, the juvenile court sustained a Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 petition alleging G.A. committed battery.1 (Pen. Code, § 243, subd. (d).) G.A’s counsel

All statutory references are to the Welfare and 1

Institutions Code unless otherwise stated.

did not appeal the June 6 order. G.A. seeks relief for his counsel’s omission. We conclude, among other things, that 1) under the liberal construction rule, the notice of appeal is timely; and 2) G.A. is not entitled to a reversal based on the recent amendment in Assembly Bill No. 1643 (2023 Reg. Sess.) to section 653.5, subdivision (c)(7) that has increased the eligibility for informal probation for juveniles. (Stats. 2023, ch. 850, § 1.) We affirm. FACTS On March 2, 2021, G.A. and M.R. were patients at a hospital. M.R. “blew a kiss” at G.A. G.A. punched M.R. in the jaw, causing fractures to his lower jaw. The People filed a section 602 petition on December 9, 2021, alleging G.A. committed battery with serious bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 243, subd. (d)), a misdemeanor. On June 7, 2022, G.A. was placed on informal probation under section 654.2. On May 1, 2023, the trial court held a hearing on victim restitution. It ordered G.A. to pay restitution in the amount of $3,347.45. On May 9, 2023, the People filed a second section 602 petition, alleging G.A. attacked his ex-girlfriend. G.A. sent her threatening messages. He went to her school. When she ran from him, he chased her, pushed her down, and “began punching her.” When he was detained, he was searched and had in his possession a box cutter and a knife. At a hearing on May 10, 2023, the trial court terminated his informal probation. It said, “In light of the current petition, that [section] 654 is lifted at this time.”