Brown v. Angel E.

Opinion

BEST, J.

When payment of restitution is a condition of a probationary order of the juvenile court, may the ward’s probation be revoked upon his failure to make restitution payments as ordered?

Absent a showing of the ward’s wilful failure to make restitution payments, we will hold that the answer is “No.”

[418]

The Case

In 1982, two different burglary petitions were sustained against minor and he was ordered to pay restitution in the total sum of $285.24. Minor failed to submit any payment. Many attempts were made in 1984 to persuade minor to honor his restitution obligations, all of which failed.

A supplemental petition filed on October 31, 1984, alleged that minor came within the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code section 777, subdivision (a),

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in that he violated probation by failing to pay restitution as previously ordered by the court.

Ultimately, Angel admitted the allegations of the supplemental petition, and he was committed to the California Youth Authority (CYA) for a period not to exceed four years, less four hundred fifty-seven days credit.

Discussion

In 1982 at the time the restitution order herein was made, section 731 authorized the juvenile court to order a ward to pay restitution as part of his rehabilitation. (See also §§ 729.6 and 730.6 added by Stats. 1983, ch. 940, §§ 3 and 4, respectively.)

While juvenile court proceedings are not criminal proceedings (§ 203), “the ‘ “civil” label-of-convenience’

(In re Gault,

387 U.S. 1, 50 [18 L.Ed.2d 527, 558, 87 S.Ct. 1428]) cannot obscure the quasi-criminal nature of juvenile proceedings, involving as they often do the possibility of a substantial loss of personal freedom.”

(Joe Z.