BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 703| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 703 Author: Bloom (D) Amended: 4/13/15 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 6/9/15 AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning NOES: Anderson NO VOTE RECORDED: Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 8/27/15 AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen NOES: Bates ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/27/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Juveniles: attorney qualifications SOURCE: East Bay Childrens Law Offices Youth Law Center DIGEST: This bill 1) establishes specified requirements for attorneys appointed to represent minors in the juvenile justice system, and 2) requires the Judicial Council to establish minimum hours of training and education necessary in order to be appointed as counsel in delinquency proceedings by July 1, 2016, as specified. ANALYSIS: AB 703 Page 2 Existing law: 1)Provides that minors under the age of 18 years may be adjudged to be a ward of the court where they "persistently or habitually refuse to obey the reasonable and proper orders or directions of his or her parents, guardian, or custodian," are "beyond the control of that person," "violated any ordinance of any city or county of this state establishing a curfew based solely on age ?," or are habitually truant, as specified. (Welfare and Institutions Code ("WIC") § 601.) 2)Provides that minors under the age of 18 years may be adjudged to be a ward of the court for violating "any law of this state or of the United States or any ordinance of any city or county of this state defining crime," as specified. (WIC § 602.) 3)Provides generally that when a minor is adjudged a ward of the court on the ground that he or she is delinquent - delinquency generally pertaining to the status and criminal conduct described above - the court may make any and all reasonable orders for the care, supervision, custody, conduct, maintenance, and support of the minor, including medical treatment, subject to further order of the court, as specified. (WIC § 727(a).) 4)Requires that counsel appointed in a dependency case "shall have a caseload and training that ensures adequate representation of the child. The Judicial Council shall promulgate rules of court that establish caseload standards, training requirements, and guidelines for appointed counsel for children ?" (WIC § 317(c); See also California Rule of Court 5.660(d) .) This bill: 1)Requires that counsel appointed to represent youth in delinquency proceedings, as specified (WIC Sections 601 and AB 703 Page 3 602), shall do all of the following: a) Provide effective, competent, diligent, and conscientious advocacy and make rational and informed decisions founded on adequate investigation and preparation. b) Provide legal representation based on the client's expressed interests, and maintain a confidential relationship with the minor. c) 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, including in the post dispositional phase. d) 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. 2)Provides that nothing in its provisions shall be construed to modify the role of counsel pursuant to subdivision (b) of WIC Section 657 (relating to a minor admitting in a detention hearing to the allegations of a petition and waiving the jurisdictional hearing). 3)Requires the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2016, and in consultation and collaboration with delinquency defense attorneys, judges and other justice partners including child development experts, to adopt rules of court to do all of the following: a) Establish minimum hours of training and education, or sufficient recent experience in delinquency proceedings in AB 703 Page 4 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. b) Establish required training areas that may include, but are not limited to, an overview of juvenile delinquency law and procedure, child and adolescent development, special education, competence and mental health issues, counsel's ethical duties, advocacy in the post dispositional phase, appellate issues, direct and collateral consequences of court involvement for a minor, and securing effective rehabilitative resources. c) Encourage public defender offices and agencies that provide representation in proceedings under WIC Sections 601 and 602 to provide training on juvenile delinquency issues that the State Bar has approved for MCLE credit. 4)Provides that attorneys practicing in juvenile delinquency courts shall be solely responsible for compliance with the training and education requirements adopted pursuant to this section. 5)Contains uncodified legislative findings and declarations concerning the complexity of representing minors in the juvenile justice system and the importance of ensuring competent legal representation in delinquency proceedings, as specified. Background According to the Department of Justice report on juvenile justice in California, approximately 97,000 juveniles were arrested in 2013, with about 58,000 cases referred to the juvenile court for disposition and largely represented by public defenders and court-appointed counsel (92 percent). AB 703 Page 5 In its Juvenile Delinquency Court Assessment 2008, the Administrative Office of the Courts concluded, "Given the complexity and the unique nature of the juvenile delinquency court setting, having experienced, well-trained attorneys is critical in order to ensure the fair processing of delinquency cases and quality representation for youth who enter the delinquency system. The fact that there are many professionals who are new to the delinquency system indicates the importance of early training when first entering a juvenile delinquency assignment. Training, along with other practices that allow for attorneys with delinquency-related experience to handle or supervise delinquency cases, should be encouraged by district attorneys' and public defenders' offices." An article in the University of California, Davis Journal of Juvenile Law and Policy, Contracts for Appointed Counsel in Juvenile Delinquency Cases: Defining Expectations (Volume 16:1, Winter 2012), stated, "The analysis of California contracts for appointed delinquency counsel reveals troubling deficiencies. The contracts fail, as a whole, to include the basic elements of competent delinquency representation. Some have well-drafted provisions with respect to particular elements but, in general, the contracts fail to address basic elements of delinquency representation. Moreover, the structure for compensation in many counties raises serious questions about whether delinquency attorneys are compensated for providing services they are ethically and legally bound to provide." Additionally, with regard to delinquency-specific training, the article reported, "Disappointingly, a 2009 survey [by the MacArthur Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network] of California delinquency counsel found that 47 percent of panel and contract attorneys had no specific juvenile training when they began to represent children in delinquency cases, and that of those who did have some training, 48 percent had a day or less." With regard to counsel in dependency proceedings, California Rule of Court 5.660(d) establishes caseload standards, training requirements, and guidelines for appointed counsel for children. This bill seeks to establish a minimum level of training and education for counsel in delinquency proceedings in order to assure justice for youth coming before the juvenile court. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal AB 703 Page 6 Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: One-time minor costs of less than $10,000 (General Fund*) for the Judicial Council to establish the training and education standards and adopt the rules of court. Potential ongoing state-reimbursable local costs in excess of $150,000 (General Fund) per year to the extent the rules of court establish guidelines mandating delinquency-specific training and education requirements for court-appointed counsel, including public defenders and district attorneys, resulting in increased costs to local agencies determined to be a reimbursable state mandate. To the extent the minimum qualifications established result in more experienced representation in delinquency proceedings, potential long-term future cost savings (General Fund) to the criminal justice system in reduced incarceration and recidivism. *Trial Court Trust Fund SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15) East Bay Children's Law Offices (co-source) Youth Law Center (co-source) American Civil Liberties Union of California The Anti-Recidivism Coalition California Public Defenders Association California State PTA Children's Advocacy Institute Children's Defense Fund - California Children Now Judicial Council of California League of Women Voters' of California National Alliance on Mental Illness National Center for Lesbian Rights Office of the Sacramento County Public Defender AB 703 Page 7 Pacific Juvenile Defender Center Public Defender of the City and County of San Francisco OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author states in part, "Many of the most common mistakes made by delinquency counsel could be avoided if counsel had basic knowledge about their ethical duties and training in the essentials of juvenile law and procedure, how to work with adolescents, and how to assure that their clients receive appropriate rehabilitative services. Dependency counsel for children are already required to have such training, but California has not yet assured that lawyers for youth in delinquency cases have the requisite knowledge and skills to provide competent representation. This bill sets forth the basic duties of juvenile delinquency defense counsel with respect to representing the expressed interests of the client, confidentiality, investigation of the case, use of experts, and maintenance of an ongoing relationship with the client. The bill also requires the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2016, to establish minimum hours of training and education necessary to be appointed as counsel in delinquency proceedings, required training areas, and provisions for exemption of experienced attorneys. The required training will count toward the State Bar required continuing legal education requirements that California attorneys must complete. This is a modest change that will vastly improve current practice in the state and help to ensure the integrity of the juvenile justice system." ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/27/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, AB 703 Page 8 Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Beth Gaines Prepared by:Alison Anderson / PUB. S. / 8/31/15 9:06:15 **** END ****