BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 988 (Liu) - Juvenile delinquency proceedings: attorney
qualifications.
Amended: April 23, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No (See Staff Comments)
Hearing Date: May 24, 2012 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: SB 988 would require the Judicial Council, on or
before January 1, 2014, to adopt rules of court regarding the
qualifications of appointed counsel in juvenile delinquency
proceedings, as specified. The bill includes codified
legislative findings and declarations.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time minor costs (Trial Court Trust Fund) for the
Judicial Council to develop and adopt the rules of court.
To the extent the rules of court establish guidelines
mandating minimum training requirements for court-appointed
counsel, including public defenders, potential
state-reimbursable local costs in excess of $150,000
(General Fund) per year.
Background: According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) report
on juvenile justice in California, approximately 186,000
juveniles were arrested in 2010, with over 95,000 cases referred
to the juvenile court for disposition and largely represented by
public defenders and court-appointed counsel.
In its Juvenile Delinquent Court Assessment Report (April 2008),
the Administrative Office of the Courts concluded the following:
"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
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handle or supervise delinquency cases, should be encouraged by
district attorneys' and public defenders' offices."
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 juvenile delinquency proceedings.
Proposed Law: This bill would require the Judicial Council to
adopt rules of court regarding the qualifications of appointed
counsel in juvenile delinquency proceedings, including, but not
limited to, the following:
Establishing minimum levels of training and education
necessary in order to be appointed as counsel in
delinquency proceedings. The minimum level of training
should not exceed eight hours, and those training hours
shall be counted toward the minimum continuing legal
education (MCLE) hours required of all attorneys by the
State Bar of California.
Establishing core training areas that include, but are
not limited to, developments in juvenile delinquency law,
child and adolescent development, special education, mental
health issues, child abuse and neglect, counsel's ethical
duties, appellate issues, direct and collateral
consequences for a minor of court involvement, and securing
effective rehabilitative resources.
Encouraging public defender offices and agencies that
provide representation in juvenile delinquency hearings to
provide training on juvenile delinquency issues. District
attorneys are encouraged to pursue education in the
relevant areas.
Providing that experts whose appointment is requested by
delinquency attorneys are agents of the attorneys and
requiring those experts to adhere to the attorney-client
privilege.
Providing that attorneys practicing in juvenile
delinquency courts shall be solely responsible for
compliance with the training and education requirements
adopted pursuant to this section.
The bill also specifies that the rules shall not require a
delinquency attorney to assume the responsibilities of a
probation officer, social worker, parent, or guardian, shall not
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be required to provide non-legal services or assistance to the
minor or represent the minor in any proceeding outside of the
delinquency proceedings. This bill also includes numerous
codified legislative findings and declarations.
Related Legislation: SB 783 (Lockyer) Chapter 1073/1994 provided
that all parties in juvenile dependency cases are entitled to
competent counsel and required the Judicial Council to develop
Rules of Court regarding the appointment of competent counsel in
dependency proceedings.
Staff Comments: The Judicial Council would incur one-time minor
costs to develop and adopt the rules of court. Although not
keyed as a state-mandated local program, to the extent the rules
of court establish guidelines mandating minimum training
requirements for court-appointed counsel, including public
defenders, local costs for continued education training courses
for public defenders and court-appointed counsel representing
juveniles in delinquency proceedings could result in increased
costs to local entities that would be subject to reimbursement
by the state if so determined by the Commission on State
Mandates.
Based on the Department of Justice report, Juvenile Justice in
California 2010, there were 95,212 juvenile petitions filed in
2010. Of the cases represented, 26 percent were represented by
court appointed counsel, 67 percent were represented by public
defenders, and seven percent of cases were represented by
private counsel or other. The number of attorneys required to
represent the juvenile petitions filed annually is estimated at
over 800 attorneys based on an annual juvenile caseload of 50
cases for court appointed counsel and 200 for public defenders.
Assuming $150 to $200 for an eight-hour training course would
result in state-reimbursable costs ranging from $120,000 to
$160,000 (General Fund) for the minimum number of attorneys
estimated to be required to meet the representative caseload. It
should be noted costs could likely be higher as juvenile
delinquency cases would not necessarily encompass an attorney's
full caseload, and many more attorneys could complete the
training to meet the requirements.
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Alternatively, to the extent the minimum training and education
standards result in the need for counties to utilize more
experienced counsel (at higher cost) could also result in
increased ongoing costs, potentially significant and
state-reimbursable, to county public defenders' offices.
Recommended Amendments: This bill contains numerous codified
findings and declarations. In the interest of code clarity and
efficiency, staff recommends this bill be amended to place the
findings and declarations in an uncodified section of the bill.
Author's amendments move the findings and declarations to an
uncodified section of the bill and make other technical
amendments.