BILL NUMBER: AB 703 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 634.6 of, and to add Section 634.3 to, the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 703, as introduced, Bloom. Juveniles: attorney qualifications.
Existing law subjects any person under 18 years of age who commits
a crime to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge
such person to be a ward of the court, except as specified. Under
existing law, a minor has the right to counsel of his or her own
choice in proceedings to declare the minor a ward of the court. If
the minor and his or her parents are indigent, the minor is entitled
to appointed counsel.
This bill would require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2016, to
adopt rules of court regarding, among other things, the establishment
of minimum hours of training and education necessary to be appointed
as counsel in delinquency proceedings, and the establishment of
required training areas and encouraging public defender offices and
other agencies that represent minors in delinquency cases to provide
juvenile delinquency training.
Existing law requires counsel, upon entering an appearance on
behalf of a minor, to continue to represent that minor unless
relieved by the court.
This bill would specify that representation to include every stage
in juvenile proceedings, including postdisposition.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) As representing minors in the juvenile justice system has
become much more complex, and the potential consequences of juvenile
involvement in the juvenile justice system have become more severe
than when the Arnold-Kennick Juvenile Court Law (Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code) was enacted, delinquency attorneys need
specialized skills, education, and training to ensure competent
representation of minors in juvenile delinquency court.
(b) Competent legal representation by defense attorneys is needed
to preserve the integrity of the juvenile justice system, prevent
wrongful judgments, reduce unnecessary incarceration, and help ensure
that minors receive the care, treatment, and guidance upon which the
juvenile justice system is premised.
(c) It is essential that California's juvenile delinquency defense
attorneys have the appropriate knowledge and skills needed to meet
the demands of this increasingly complex area of legal practice.
Advances in brain research demonstrate that children and adolescents
do not possess the same cognitive, emotional, decisionmaking, and
behavioral capacities as adults. Counsel must ensure that these
differences are appropriately recognized in the attorney-client
relationship and defense of the case.
SEC. 2. Section 634.3 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
634.3. (a) Counsel appointed pursuant to Section 634 to represent
youth in proceedings under Sections 601 and 602 shall do all of the
following:
(1) Provide effective, competent, diligent, and conscientious
advocacy and make rational and informed decisions founded on adequate
investigation and preparation.
(2) Represent the expressed interests of the minor, and maintain a
confidential relationship with the minor.
(3) Confer with the minor prior to each court hearing, and have
sufficient contact with the minor to establish and maintain a
meaningful and professional attorney-client relationship.
(4) When appropriate, delinquency attorneys should consult with
social workers, mental health professionals, educators, and other
experts reasonably necessary for the preparation of the minor's case,
and, when appropriate, seek appointment of those experts pursuant to
Sections 730 and 952 of the Evidence Code.
(b) By July 1, 2016, the Judicial Council, in consultation and
collaboration with delinquency defense attorneys, judges, and other
justice partners including child development experts, shall adopt
rules of court to do all of the following:
(1) Establish minimum hours of training and education necessary in
order to be appointed as counsel in delinquency proceedings.
Training hours that the State Bar has approved for Minimum Continuing
Legal Education (MCLE) credit shall be counted toward the MCLE hours
required of all attorneys by the State Bar.
(2) Establish required training areas that include, but are not
limited to, developments in juvenile delinquency law, motion
practice, child and adolescent development, special education,
competence and mental health issues, child abuse and neglect, counsel'
s ethical duties, advocacy in the postdispositional phase, appellate
issues, direct and collateral consequences of court involvement for a
minor, and securing effective rehabilitative resources.
(3) Encourage public defender offices and agencies that provide
representation in proceedings under Sections 601 and 602 to provide
training on juvenile delinquency issues that the State Bar has
approved for MCLE credit.
(4) Provide that experts whose appointment is requested by
delinquency attorneys, and social workers employed to work with the
delinquency attorney, are agents of the attorneys and require those
experts and social workers to adhere to the attorney-client privilege
under Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of
Division 8 of the Evidence Code.
(5) Provide that attorneys practicing in juvenile delinquency
courts shall be solely responsible for compliance with the training
and education requirements adopted pursuant to this section.
SEC. 3. Section 634.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
634.6. Any counsel upon entering an appearance on behalf of a
minor shall continue to represent that minor at every stage in
juvenile proceedings, including postdisposition, unless
relieved by the court upon the substitution of other counsel or for
cause. Indigent juveniles should be represented by the public
defender whenever possible.