CHILDREN AND THE LAW
...Delinquency Matters
......Jurisdictional Hearing
.........Findings & Orders
............Felony-Misdemeanor Determination
 20 Cards On This Topic:
  • Juvenile court must declare whether alternative crime is felony or misdemeanor.
  • Court shall make findings in order re degree of offense and whether offense would be misdemeanor or felony if committed by adult.
  • Bicycle footrest in M's pocket was not a device "worn ... in or on the hand," and thus did not qualify as "metal knuckles" under PC 12020(c)(7).
  • Where M held sharp knife against schoolmate in such a way that a sudden distraction or misstep could have resulted in a serious puncture, it was a deadly weapon with the capacity to cause SBI or death.
  • Juvenile court properly found M committed a battery on a school worker per PC 242 and PC 243.6 when she knocked a walkie-talkie out of her gym teacher's hand and it fell to the ground.
  • Insufficient evidence demonstrated M committed ADW where he did not use butter knife in a manner capable of producing and likely to produce death or great bodily injury.
  • "Making a challenge to fight in a public place" is not a specific intent offense; remand required for felony/misdemeanor determination.
  • Person who brings a controlled substance or other contraband into juvenile hall is properly charged under W&IC 871.5, not PC 4573.
  • Remanded to allow juvenile ct. to consider whether punishment for both offenses was barred by W&IC 654, and to declare whether each of M's offenses was a misdemeanor or a felony under W&IC 702.
  • M's two misdemeanor acts of vandalism properly aggregated to form a single felony offense.
  • To be found liable as an aider and abettor and an accessory after the fact re same felony, acts must have ceased at time of conduct that rendered him/her culpable as an accessory.
  • Leather wallet, with metal spikes which would protrude from fingers when wallet held in closed fist, met statutory definition of metal knuckles.
  • If offense adjudicated misdemeanor on remand, court to strike order requiring M to provide DNA data bank samples; if samples already collected, M may seek expungement. If felony, order proper.
  • Court cannot aggregate minor’s 34 misdemeanor "taggings" into one felony.
  • W&I 702 felony/misdemeanor declaration serves principally administrative purposes and may be treated as directory, not mandatory.
  • Clear description of offense or numerical designation of crime at disposition satisfies requirement for finding of degree.
  • Juvenile court’s failure to determine misdemeanor/felony status of alternative crime is reversible error.
  • Failure to declare offense felony or misdemeanor requires remand for declaration.
  • Juvenile court has discretion to reduce degree of crime.
  • Trial court did not err in failing to designate offense as misdemeanor or felony where only option available for offense described was felony.


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