BILL NUMBER: AB 703 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 23, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 634.6 of, and to add Section
634.3 to, add Section 634.3 to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 703, as amended, 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 counsel appointed in youth
proceedings to, among other things, have sufficient contact with the
minor to establish and maintain a meaningful and professional
attorney-client relationship, including in the postdispositional
phase of the proceedings. The bill would also 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 education, or sufficient recent
experience in delinquency proceedings in which the attorney has
demonstrated competence, 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,
Provide legal representation based on the client's
expressed interests, 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.
relationship, including in the postdispositional
phase.
(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.
(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to modify the
role of counsel pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 657.
(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
education, or sufficient recent experience in
delinquency proceedings in which the attorney has demonstrated
competence, 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 may include,
but are not limited to, developments in an
overview of juvenile delinquency law, motion practice,
law and procedure, 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.