In re J.H.

Filed 4/6/20 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

In re J.H., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court C088227 Law.

THE PEOPLE, (Super. Ct. No. 61891)

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

J.H.,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Joaquin County, Gus C. Barrera, II, Judge. Reversed.

J. Mark Myles, County Counsel, Erin H. Sakata, Deputy County Counsel; Freeman Firm and Thomas H. Keeling, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Jennifer B. Henning for California State Association of Counties as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.

Linda K. Harvie, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Respondent.

1

This case addresses the enforcement of restitution orders in delinquency cases. Respondent J.H. was ordered to pay restitution as part of a juvenile delinquency adjudication (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602) in 2005. 1 J.H.’s wardship terminated on June 6, 2014, after which writs of execution were issued for the unpaid balance. J.H. subsequently moved to quash. The superior court granted the motion, finding the restitution order was no longer valid because the 10-year enforcement period for money judgments had expired without renewal of the restitution order as required by section 683.020 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The People appeal, contending restitution orders imposed in delinquency proceedings are not subject to the 10-year enforcement period of Code of Civil Procedure section 683.020. We conclude that, while restitution orders in delinquency cases are enforceable as money judgments and can be converted to money judgments, they are not money judgments for the purpose of the 10-year enforcement limit. Accordingly, we shall reverse. I. BACKGROUND On December 23, 2004, a delinquency petition was filed in the juvenile court alleging 11-year-old J.H. committed felony vandalism. (Pen. Code, § 549, subd. (b)(1).) On August 1, 2005, J.H. was adjudged a ward of the court after admitting to misdemeanor vandalism and unlawfully causing a fire to the property of another (Pen. Code, § 452, subd. (d)). He was placed on probation and ordered to pay victim restitution as a condition of probation. The victim restitution was initially set at $18,439.91 and was modified upward to $35,926.90 on August 15, 2006. J.H.’s motion to terminate the delinquency was granted on June 6, 2014.