In Re the Welfare of J.D.P. ( 1989 )

OPINION

PARKER, Judge.

Appellant J.D.P., a juvenile, challenges the trial court’s decision to refer him to adult court for prosecution for first-degree murder under Minn.Stat. § 609.185 (1988). We affirm.

FACTS

The Kittson County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call from J.D.P. on September 15, 1988, at approximately 10:23 p.m. J.D. P. told the dispatcher that he had just shot his mother. Police officers responding found his mother in the kitchen of the family home. She had been shot in the face and was dead.

The investigating officers found J.D.P. at a neighboring house and took him into custody. Upon a court order, Dr. Robert T. Butler, a licensed psychologist who works as the director of the mental health division of Human Services Inc. in Oakdale, Minnesota, conducted an extensive interview with J.D.P. While J.D.P. admitted shooting his mother, he said he did not recall the specifics of the incident. He did recall, however, that on the evening of September 15, he came home from school and completed his farm chores before setting out for a meeting at school. He sought and found his mother at a local tavern in order to get some money from her. She gave him $5. J.D.P. and a friend then purchased a 12-pack of beer. They drank it and went to the meeting. After the meeting, he and his friends bought another 12-pack. By ten p.m., he claims to have drunk ten or eleven beers. He said that he recalls going home and sitting in the kitchen and then fighting with his mother about coming home late; he next recalls being at the neighbor’s and calling 911.

On the basis of these facts and the admission by J.D.P. that he shot his mother, the state filed a delinquency petition alleging that he had committed first-degree murder. J.D.P. was Ylxk years old at the time of the shooting. The prosecutor moved to have him referred to adult court for prosecution. At the reference hearing Dr. Butler testified extensively regarding what J.D.P. told him about the events, his psychological status, his problem with alcohol dependency, and other pertinent aspects of his family and personal history. The record also contains testimony by representatives of the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Sauk Centre and the Minnesota Correctional Facility at St. Cloud regarding available programs at those facilities and at the juvenile facility in Red Wing.

The trial court found probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the crime of first-degree murder in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.185(1), that he was not suitable for treatment, and that the public safety would not be served under the provisions of the law relating to the juvenile court.

ISSUE

Did the trial court err in granting the state’s motion to refer J.D.P. for prosecution as an adult for first-degree murder?

DISCUSSION

In order to refer a minor for adult prosecution, the trial court must find (1) probable cause to believe the child committed the offense alleged in the delinquency petition, and (2) a demonstration by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not suitable to treatment or that the public safety is not served under the provisions of the law relating to juvenile courts. Minn. Stat. § 260.125, subd. 2(d) (1988). A prima facie case that the minor is not suitable for treatment or that the public safety is not served is established by the state if the minor was at least 16 years old at the time of. the alleged offense, and either of the following is established: (1) the juvenile is alleged by the delinquency petition to have committed an aggravated felony against the person and in committing the offense acted with particular cruelty or disregard for the life or safety of others, or the offense involved a high degree of sophistication or planning; or (2) the juvenile is alleged by the delinquency petition to have committed murder in the first degree. Minn.Stat. § 260.125, subd. 3 (1988).

The trial court’s decision will not be upset unless its findings are so clearly erroneous as to constitute an abuse of discretion. In Re Welfare of I.Q.S., 309 Minn. 78, 86-87, 244 N.W.2d 30, 38 (1976). For purposes of the reference hearing, the charges against the juvenile are presumed to be true. In Re the Welfare of W.J.R., 264 N.W.2d 391, 393 (Minn.1978).

On this record, we cannot say that the trial court clearly erred in its decision to refer J.D.P. for prosecution as an adult. There was abundant evidence to constitute probable cause that he committed first-degree murder, and he did not rebut this showing. Not only is J.D.P. alleged to have committed murder in the first degree, but the record supports the trial court’s finding of an aggravated felony committed with particular cruelty and disregard for the life of another.

The trial court also made extensive findings pursuant to subdivision 2 of the reference statute to demonstrate that J.D. P. was not suitable to treatment and that public safety would not be served under the juvenile system. J.D.P. was 17-V2 years old at the time of the homicide. While Dr. Butler’s testimony contains support for the positions of both the state and the juvenile, he ultimately perceived the major problem to be severe alcohol dependency. Violence is clearly associated with J-D.P.'s intoxication and pattern of chemical dependency, as is a pattern of losing emotional control and experiencing blackouts while under the influence of alcohol. While Dr. Butler indicated that the remaining 17 months of juvenile court jurisdiction could be a sufficient amount of time in which to address the chemical dependency problem, he also stated that chemical dependency involves a lifelong recovery process:

On a more negative side, recovery from chemical dependency is never an easy matter and especially in a person with as extensive a family history of chemical dependency as appears to be in [J.D.P.’s] family. Moreover, [J.D.P.] would appear to be quite vulnerable to the use of alcohol in that his chemical dependency progressed from early experimentation to seriously harmful dependency in a matter of a few short years and thus, would appear that its power for him may be fairly strong and difficult to give up.

(Dr. Butler’s written report, at 17).

The record also contains evidence regarding programs available at the juvenile correctional facilities at Sauk Centre and Red Wing. Testimony indicates that neither is a secure facility and neither has sufficient in-house counseling to help J.D.P. deal with his chemical dependency and emotional problems in the 17 months remaining of juvenile court jurisdiction. Clear and convincing evidence thus exists to support the trial court’s decision that both public safety concerns and unsuitability to available treatment within the juvenile system mandate reference to adult court.

The juvenile may rebut a prima facie case if he shows by significant evidence that he is suitable for treatment or that public safety is served under the provisions of laws relative to juvenile courts. Matter of the Welfare of J.L.B., 435 N.W.2d 595, 598 (Minn.Ct.App.1989). If the trial court concludes that the juvenile has rebutted the prima facie showing, then the court must analyze the reference request based on the entire record, without reference to the prima facie case, and consider whether the state has met its burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the juvenile is unamenable to treatment in the juvenile court system consistent with public safety. Matter of the Welfare of D.F.B., 433 N.W.2d 79, 81 (Minn.1988); Matter of the Welfare of J.F.K, 316 N.W.2d 563, 564 (Minn.1982). This review of the entire record is to involve the multifactor analysis discussed in Matter of the Welfare of Dahl, 278 N.W.2d 316 (Minn.1979), and the totality of the circumstances factors set forth in Minn.R.Juv.Ct. 32.05, subd. 2. Matter of D.F.B., 433 N.W.2d at 81.

There is support in the record for the dissent’s conclusion that J.D.P. has rebutted the prima facie case, and we view this as a close question. Dr. Butler’s report is equivocal and could be interpreted as supporting a rebuttal, particularly with regard to amenability to treatment. Fortunately, however, the trial court did not stop with the prima facie showing but went on to apply the totality of the circumstances test as set forth in Minn.R.Juv.Ct. 32.05, subd. 2.

The trial court’s memo discusses the age of the juvenile and his state of intoxication at the time of the alleged offense. The court also notes the seriousness of the offense, that the juvenile acted in disregard of the safety and life of his mother, that he must have been able to foresee the consequences of his act, and that he had an opportunity to reflect on this when he went to get his shotgun. The trial court also questioned whether 17 months was sufficient time for treatment, observing that J.D.P.’s treatment for alcohol dependency is going to be a lifelong process and that facilities available in the juvenile system are lacking in both security and chemical dependency programs. We cannot say on the basis of this thorough and thoughtful analysis that there was clear error on the part of the trial court. Based on Dr. Butler’s somewhat equivocal testimony and factors beyond the age of the offender and the heinous nature of the offense, the state met its burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that J.D.P. is unamenable to treatment in the juvenile court system consistent with public safety. See Matter of D.F.B., 433 N.W.2d at 81-82.

DECISION

The trial court did not err in granting the state’s motion to refer the juvenile for prosecution as an adult.

Affirmed.