BILL ANALYSIS AB 2212 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 2212 (Fuentes) - As Amended: April 22, 2010 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill codifies certain constitutional requirements for determining juvenile competency. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires a juvenile court to suspend criminal proceedings if doubt is present as to the minor's present ability to cooperate with his or her lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding. 2)Requires the court, upon declaration of a doubt as to the minor's competency, to order the competence to be determined at a hearing. 3)Requires the court to appoint an expert in the field of juvenile competency to evaluate whether the minor suffers from a mental disorder, developmental disability, or developmental immaturity. 4)Species that if the minor is found incompetent by a preponderance of evidence, all proceedings shall remain suspended for a sufficient period of time to determine whether there is a substantial probability the minor will attain the necessary capacity in the foreseeable future. The period of time during which proceedings are suspended shall not exceed six months, during which time the court may consider a motion to dismiss, a motion by the defense regarding a change in the placement of the minor, a detention hearing, or a demurrer. AB 2212 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor annual state and local costs for hearings and increased mental health services, depending on how many wards are affected by this bill. This bill essentially codifies current practice, so costs should be minimal. By creating this procedure, however, judges could arguably widen the net and make broader than anticipated use of the proposed procedure, which could result in additional hearings. 2)Minor absorbable costs to the Judicial Council to develop rules to implement the proposed processes. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author's intent is codify competency processes for juveniles, similar to those afforded adults. According to the author, "Despite the Penal Code procedures for determining competency in adult proceedings, a determination of juvenile competency lives only in case law and the Rules of Court. The absence of statutory authority for deciding juvenile competency creates lack of certainty and disparate application of existing case law. "Juvenile adjudicative competency is governed by a combination of California statute as it relates to adults, juvenile rules of court, and controlling case law related to both minors and adults. Legislative action is necessary to articulate the law in a manner that provides the juvenile court with the appropriate guidance, mandate and uniformity to ensure due process of law. "While case law suggest that courts may rely on adult competency provisions in the absence of a juvenile statute on competency to stand trial, adult competency statutes do not address the nuanced application of 'developmental immaturity' outlined in case law relevant to determination of competency AB 2212 Page 3 in juveniles. Developmental immaturity simply means the minor is too young to understand the proceedings or effectively assist counsel. "Moreover, evaluation of children requires a professional expertise on child development, use of assessment instruments unique to evaluations of children in order to identify a mental disorder or developmental disability. For obvious reasons, the adult statutes fail to address such standard of practice for juveniles. Codification of a juvenile statute for competency to stand trial is necessary to address a void in the statue that unambiguously provides guidance on the rule of law for competency in delinquency proceedings." 2)Support. The Youth Law Center, the CA Public Defenders Association, and the Sacramento County Public Defender reference confusion in this area of law and agree upon the need to codifying juvenile competency processes. According to the Sacramento County Public Defender, "With the passage of AB 2212, the state could save countless resources in avoiding further unnecessary litigation in this area. Countless contested competency cases are being litigated in juvenile court everyday, draining valuable resources. Cases are being litigated up and down the appellate court ladder attempting to get guidance in this vague area of the law. AB 2212 would give juvenile delinquency courts, minors' attorneys, prosecutors, and other juvenile justice partners clear standards, direction and guidance in this area of law, as is the case regarding competency to stand trial in the criminal court." 3)Prior legislation , AB 2019 (Steinberg), 2004, was similar to AB 2212, but considerably more expansive and prescriptive regarding the outcome should a juvenile be found incompetent. AB 2212, expired on the Senate floor after passing off of the Suspense File in both houses. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081