In re L. C. A.
| Docket Number: | 2005-CA-00242-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-05-2006 Opinion Author: Roberts, J. Holding: AFFIRMED AND REMANDED |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Juvenile justice - Delinquent act - Unlawful arrest - Adjudicatory hearing - Section 43-21-557 - Admission of evidence - Placement in training school Judge(s) Concurring: Lee and Myers, P.JJ., Southwick, Chandler, Griffis and Ishee, JJ., Dissenting Author : Irving, J. Dissent Joined By : King, C.J., and Barnes, J. Procedural History: Bench Trial |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 01-26-2005 Appealed from: Jones County Youth Court Judge: Gaylon Harper Disposition: TRIAL COURT FOUND THAT MINOR HAD COMMITTED A DELINQUENT ACT Case Number: 34-YC-2004-D-23-2(13472) |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | In the Interest of: L. C. A., a Minor |
CHARLES E. LAWRENCE |
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Juvenile justice - Delinquent act - Unlawful arrest - Adjudicatory hearing - Section 43-21-557 - Admission of evidence - Placement in training school |
| Summary of the Facts: | The Jones County Youth Court found that L.C.A. qualified as a delinquent child. The court held a disposition hearing and placed L.C.A. in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services – Youth Services for placement at a training school. L.C.A. appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Delinquent act L.C.A argues that he was unlawfully arrested and that the evidence was insufficient to adjudicate him as a delinquent child. With regard to his unlawful arrest argument, L.C.A. caused a disturbance in the classroom significant enough to warrant contacting the youth court judge. The youth court judge issued a custody order and directed that the deputy take L.C.A. into custody. Therefore, L.C.A. was not subjected to an unlawful arrest. A delinquent child is a child over ten years old who has committed a delinquent act. An act qualifies as a delinquent act if that act would amount to a federal or state crime if committed by an adult. L.C.A., then sixteen years old, was charged with violating Mississippi’s law that prohibits disorderly conduct. As the deputy removed L.C.A. from the school, L.C.A. struggled, acted belligerently, and used profane language. There is no doubt that, under the circumstances, a breach could result from L.C.A.’s use of profane language. Issue 2: Adjudicatory hearing L.C.A. argues that the youth court failed to comply with Mississippi law when it did not advise him of all of his rights at the adjudicatory hearing. Section 43-21-557 requires a youth court judge to inform an alleged juvenile offender of his rights. The record contains no indication that L.C.A. was denied any right that rendered the youth court hearing unfair. In fact, at no point in his brief does L.C.A. indicate just how the youth court proceedings were somehow unfair or how he was prejudiced by the youth court’s failure to comply with section 43-21-557. As such, if any error resulted, it is harmless. Issue 3: Admission of evidence L.C.A. argues that the youth court erred when it considered his prior adjudication as a child in need of supervision for marijuana use during the disposition hearing. However, in conducting a disposition hearing, a youth court should consider relevant factors including the nature and number of the child’s prior adjudicated offenses. Consequently, this issue is without merit. However, the Court may only affirm in part, because L.C.A.’s eighteenth birthday was February 21, 2006, and Mississippi law prohibits any court from sentencing an offender over the age of eighteen to the custody of the Division of Youth Services for placement in a state-supported training school. The case is remanded in part for a new dispositional hearing which excludes the possibility of placement in a state-supported training school. |
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