State v. A.L. (In re Interest of A.L.)
State v. A.L. (In re Interest of A.L.)
Opinion of the Court
*614¶1 The Milwaukee County Circuit Court, T. Christopher Dee presiding, denied the State's motion to recall A.L.'s juvenile delinquency proceedings. We review the court of appeals' decision reversing the circuit court.
*615¶2 A.L. seeks review of two issues: (1) whether a circuit court can resume suspended juvenile delinquency proceedings to reexamine the competency of a juvenile who was initially found not competent to proceed under
¶3 We conclude that a circuit court can resume suspended juvenile delinquency proceedings to reexamine the competency of a juvenile who was initially found not competent and not likely to become competent within the statutory time frame. We also conclude that a circuit court retains competency over juvenile delinquency proceedings even after an accompanying JIPS
*829order has expired. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE
¶4 The juvenile delinquency petition at issue pertains to an incident that occurred in November 2012 when A.L. was 15 years old. Milwaukee police officers were dispatched to a residence where they found a man lying on the front porch with a stab wound to his chest. During a search of the residence, the officers recovered a silver metal knife in the kitchen sink. A.L. admitted to an officer that he had *616stabbed his 25-year-old cousin after observing him violently fighting with A.L.'s 16-year-old brother.
¶5 A delinquency petition was filed in November 2012 when A.L. was 15 years old, alleging A.L. committed second-degree reckless homicide while armed with a dangerous weapon. At A.L.'s plea hearing, defense counsel challenged A.L.'s competency to proceed. The circuit court suspended the proceedings and ordered two competency evaluations of A.L. Both psychologists found A.L. not competent and not likely to become competent within the statutory time frame, and the circuit court agreed. Pursuant to
¶6 While the JIPS order was pending, the State filed additional charges against A.L.: (1) a June 2014 juvenile delinquency petition alleging criminal damage to property; and (2) a December 2014 complaint alleging battery, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct in adult criminal court.
¶7 As a result of the competency finding in the adult criminal proceedings, the State moved for a reevaluation of A.L.'s competency in the 2014 delinquency proceedings. After hearing testimony, the circuit court found A.L. competent and resumed proceedings on the June 2014 delinquency petition.
¶8 The State then filed a motion to recall for reconsideration of A.L.'s competency in the November 2012 juvenile delinquency case. The circuit court held that under the circumstances, where A.L. was initially found not competent and unlikely to become competent,
¶9 The court of appeals reversed and remanded the matter, concluding that
¶10 A.L. seeks review of two issues: (1) whether a circuit court can resume suspended delinquency proceedings to reexamine the competency of a juvenile who was initially found not competent to *618proceed under
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶11 The focus in this case is on the interpretation of
III. ANALYSIS
¶12 This case concerns a circuit court's ability to resume
A. The circuit court has authority to resume suspended juvenile delinquency proceedings to reexamine competency.
¶13 We interpret
*831Section 938.30(5)(d) provides that if a juvenile is found not competent to proceed, the circuit court "shall suspend proceedings" on a juvenile delinquency petition and order the State to file a petition for a Wis. Stat. ch. 51 commitment or a JIPS petition. Where a juvenile is *620found not competent but likely to become competent "within 12 months or within the time period of the maximum sentence that may be imposed," § 938.30(5)(e) mandates periodic reexaminations with written reports to be filed "every 3 months and within 30 days" before the juvenile's commitment or dispositional order expires. If a report indicates that the juvenile has become competent, the circuit court "shall hold a hearing within 10 days" and "determine whether the juvenile is competent. If the court determines that the juvenile is competent, the court shall terminate the juvenile's commitment or dispositional order and resume the delinquency proceeding." § 938.30(5)(e)2. However, § 938.30(5) does not address what becomes of the suspended delinquency proceedings for juveniles who are found not competent and not likely to become competent within the statutory time frame, like A.L.
¶14 The court of appeals concluded that because
¶15 Upon examination of the language of
¶16 First, the word "suspend" signifies a temporary postponement and implies that a circuit court can resume the proceedings if the reason for the suspension disappears. We rely on dictionary definitions when the legislature fails to provide a definition in the statute. Wisconsin DOR v. River City Refuse Removal, Inc.,
¶17 Second,
¶18 Further, there is a logical distinction between the suspension of a case where a juvenile is not competent to proceed and the dismissal of a case where a juvenile's affirmative defense is lack of mental responsibility. The latter resolves the case on the merits and there is no matter left for the circuit court to decide. On the other hand, a juvenile's lack of competency bears only upon the juvenile's current ability to participate in the proceedings; it is not related to the merits of the case. If the circuit court cannot resume suspended proceedings once a juvenile becomes competent, there would be no means of conclusion or resolution of the case, and A.L.'s 2012 delinquency proceedings would be suspended indefinitely. Where a juvenile does not become competent within the statutory *623time frame, suspension would therefore act as the functional equivalent of dismissal. Reading
¶19 Lastly, reading
If a petition alleging that a juvenile is delinquent is filed before the juvenile is 17 years of age, but the juvenile becomes 17 years of age before admitting the facts of the petition at the plea hearing or if the juvenile denies the facts, before an adjudication, the court retains jurisdiction over the case.
Here, the petition was filed when A.L. was 15 years old and, because A.L. was found not competent, the proceedings were suspended. A.L. neither admitted nor denied the facts of the petition before turning 17 years old and therefore the circuit court retained jurisdiction over the delinquency proceedings pursuant to § 938.12(2).
¶20 A.L. asserts that
¶21 A.L. additionally argues that the time frame for reexamination and filing of written reports set forth in
¶22 Lastly, A.L. asserts that the State's interpretation of
¶23 We conclude that the language of
B. An expired JIPS order is irrelevant to a circuit court's competency over juvenile delinquency proceedings.
¶24 In the alternative, A.L. asserts that the circuit court retained competency over A.L. only for the duration of the accompanying JIPS order, which expired in March 2015. A.L. contends that the circuit court could have reexamined him only through March 2015 because his JIPS order was not extended beyond that time. However, A.L. points to no statutory language that supports the position that a circuit court loses competency over delinquency proceedings just because an accompanying JIPS order expires.
¶25 On the other hand, the State points to several cases where this court has determined that a criminal proceeding is jurisdictionally independent from a civil commitment based on lack of competency.
*627See State ex rel. Porter v. Wolke,
¶26 A.L. cites to
¶27 Wisconsin Stat. § 938.30(5)(e) further demonstrates that the court presiding over the JIPS proceedings does not truly *835have "exclusive original jurisdiction" in the sense that A.L. asserts. Pursuant to § 938.30(5)(e), a juvenile who is found not likely to become competent is subject to a separate JIPS order, yet the circuit court may continue to exercise jurisdiction over the juvenile through reexamination for competency and resumption of delinquency proceedings if the juvenile becomes competent within the statutory time frame. Therefore, the expiration of A.L.'s accompanying JIPS order in March 2015 has no bearing on the circuit court's competency to proceed with A.L.'s delinquency proceedings.
IV. CONCLUSION
¶28 We conclude that a circuit court can resume suspended juvenile delinquency proceedings to examine the competency of a juvenile who was initially found not competent and not likely to become competent within the statutory time frame. We also conclude that a circuit court retains competency over juvenile delinquency proceedings even after an accompanying JIPS order has expired. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.
By the Court. -The decision of the court of appeals is affirmed.
State v. A.L.,
All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2015-16 version unless otherwise indicated.
A "juvenile in need of protection or services" order, as discussed in
A.L. was 17 years old at the time of the December 2014 offense and therefore the State filed adult criminal charges. A.L. is now 21 years old.
The State labelled its motion "State's Motion to Recall Suspended Case." Such a motion would be the procedural mechanism triggering a circuit court to order a competency evaluation. If A.L. is ultimately found competent, the circuit court could then resume the proceedings in the November 2012 juvenile delinquency case. The circuit court would then have two options: dismissal of the action with prejudice or waiver of jurisdiction pursuant to
Noncompliance with statutory mandates affects a court's "competency," which is "not jurisdictional at all, but instead, is defined as 'the power of a court to exercise its subject matter jurisdiction' in a particular case." City of Eau Claire v. Booth,
Compare
If A.L. is found competent, the State intends to ask the circuit court to waive its jurisdiction so that the case could be tried in adult criminal court. The Juvenile Justice Code specifically provides that a circuit court retains jurisdiction over a delinquency case, see
The violation of the right to a speedy trial is a case-by-case determination that weighs, among other factors, the "prejudice to the defendant." See Barker v. Wingo,
Wisconsin Stat. ch. 51 allows temporary civil commitment for those who are "mentally ill," "proper subject[s] for treatment," and "'dangerous' to themselves or to others." See In re Helen E.F.,
Wisconsin Stat. § 938.13 reads: "[e]xcept as provided in [Wis. Stat. §] 938.028(3), the court has exclusive original jurisdiction over a juvenile alleged to be in need of protection or services."
Concurring Opinion
¶29 We perceived a need for
There is a silence where hath been no sound,
There is a silence where no sound may be,
In the cold grave-under the deep deep sea,
Or in wide desert where no life is found,
Which hath been mute, and still must sleep profound;
No voice is hush' d-no life treads silently,
But clouds and cloudy shadows wander free.
Thomas Hood, Silence (1827). In conversations, in stories, in all manner of communications we nod along as one thought flows comfortably into the next. But when the narrative unexpectedly stops, we reflexively rebel against the silence that denies us the rest of the story. So we finish the unspoken thought, complete the unfinished plot. As natural as that reaction might be in most affairs of life, we must give it no heed when we construe statutes. It is for the legislature to decide when to compose, and when to lay aside the pen. If that choice brings silence earlier than we expect or hope, our disappointment does not give us leave to take up the pen and write in its name.
¶30 But still, we did. The circuit court suspended A.L.'s delinquency proceeding pursuant to
¶31 We could not abide the statute's silence, so we said that our "reading of § 938.30(5) in conjunction with the language of ch. 938 demonstrates that a circuit court has the authority to resume suspended proceedings in cases where a juvenile was initially found not competent to proceed under § 938.30(5)(d) and not likely to become competent within the statutory time limits."
¶32 This intrusion into legislative silence was not just unwarranted, it was completely unnecessary. When the legislature adopted
Also if a man in his sound memory commits a capital offense, and before arraignment for it he becomes mad, he ought not to be arraigned for it, because he is not able to plead to it with that advice and caution that he ought. And if, after he has pleaded, the prisoner becomes mad, he shall not be tried, for how can he make his defense? If, after he be tried and found guilty, he loses his senses before judgment, judgment shall not be pronounced; and if, after judgment, he becomes of nonsane memory, execution shall be stayed; for peradventure, says the humanity of the English law, had the prisoner been of sound memory, he might have alleged something in stay of judgment or execution.
¶33 The authority to regulate our proceedings is not, of course, exclusive to us-the legislature may make its contribution as well: "[T]he power to regulate procedure has been regarded not as an exclusively legislative power, nor yet as an exclusively judicial *632power, but certainly as a power properly within the judicial province when not otherwise directed by the legislature." Rules of Court Case,
¶34 When the legislature stops writing, "There is a silence where hath been no sound / There is a silence where no sound may be...." We should not surmise it is unintentional, or accidental. No sound belongs there because it is the silence of the people's representatives choosing not to speak. "No voice is hush'd" there because there is no voice wishing to be heard. And in that stillness, "no life treads silently" in hopes we will give it expression. The quietness following the period in the statute's last sentence is the oracular pronouncement that all has been said that will be said. We may no more compel the legislature to speak than we may ignore it when it does. For these reasons, I join the court's opinion except to the extent it discovers authority to resume Mr. L.'s delinquency proceedings in Wis. Stat § 938.30(5). The authority to resume those proceedings both pre-dated and survived enactment of that statute.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In the INTEREST OF A.L., a Person Under the Age of 17: State of Wisconsin v. A.L., Respondent-Respondent-Petitioner.
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published