People v. Elijah C.

Filed 6/30/16 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

In re ELIJAH C., a Person Coming Under B266437 the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VJ43366)

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

ELIJAH C.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Fumiko Hachiya Wasserman, Judge. Reversed. Esther R. Sorkin, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Margaret E. Maxwell, and William H. Shin, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________________________________

In this case, we consider whether a minor’s purported waiver of the statute of limitations for an offense is valid, when that waiver was made without consultation with counsel and before a petition against the minor was filed. We conclude that the answer is no. Appellant Elijah C. signed a document waiving the one-year statute of limitations for petty theft as a condition of entering a diversion program for first-time offenders. More than a year later, the district attorney’s office found that Elijah had not complied with all the requirements of the program, terminated his involvement in it, and filed a petition alleging he committed petty theft. The juvenile court overruled Elijah’s demurrer, sustained the petition, and adjudged him a ward of the court. We reverse. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW On March 7, 2012, Elijah, who was then 14 years old, visited a friend’s house. Valerie Hernandez, the friend’s mother, saw Elijah playing with Hernandez’s iPod Touch. After Elijah left, Hernandez noticed that the iPod was missing. When police officers confronted Elijah, he admitted that he had the iPod, and went into his house and retrieved it. Authorities did not immediately file a petition against Elijah in the juvenile court. Instead, the district attorney’s office offered him entry in its Juvenile Offender Intervention Network (JOIN) program, a diversion program for first-time, nonviolent juvenile offenders. Elijah and his parents signed a contract in which Elijah agreed to participate in individual counseling, to complete 50 hours of community service, to attend school on time, to write a letter of apology to Hernandez, and to obey all laws, and his parents agreed to complete a parent education program. The last paragraph of the contract provided as follows: “I admit that my actions were improper and I accept responsibility. I consent to participate in the agreement above, and I understand that if I fail to maintain this agreement a petition may be filed in the Juvenile Court for . . . Penal Code section 484(a) (petty theft). I further understand that my case cannot legally be prosecuted after the passage of one year from the date of the offense. However, in order to participate in the JOIN program I agree to waive and