DocketNumber: SJC-12625; SJC-12660
Citation Numbers: 122 N.E.3d 532, 482 Mass. 325
Judges: Budd, Cypher, Gants, Gaziano, Kafker, Lenk, Lowy
Filed Date: 5/16/2019
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/24/2022
**325*536Before July 12, 2018, "a child between seven and [eighteen] who violates any city ordinance or town by-law or who **326commits any offence against a law of the commonwealth" could be adjudicated a "delinquent child" in the Juvenile Court. See G. L. c. 119, § 52, as amended through St. 2013, c. 84, § 7; G. L. c. 119, § 58. On and after that date, as a result of the enactment of St. 2018, c. 69, entitled "An Act relative to criminal justice reform" (act), a child who commits an offense before the age of twelve or who commits a civil infraction, violates a municipal ordinance or town bylaw, or commits a first offense of a misdemeanor "for which the punishment is a fine, imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than [six] months or both such fine and imprisonment" can no longer be adjudicated a "delinquent child." St. 2018, c. 69, § 72.
The issue presented on appeal is whether the amended definition of "delinquent child" should be applied retroactively to cases pending on July 12, 2018. We conclude that it should, and that a child may not be adjudicated a "delinquent child" on and after this date if he or she does not fit within the definition of that term as amended by the act. We therefore vacate the orders denying the juveniles' motions to dismiss, and remand both matters to the Juvenile Court, where an order of dismissal for each case shall issue.
*537Background. 1. Lazlo. At the time of the events at issue, Lazlo was eleven years old and living with his mother and stepfather.
**327The complainant, A.M.,
On April 10, 2018, a complaint issued charging Lazlo with one count of rape and abuse of a child in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 23. On June 13, Lazlo filed a motion to dismiss the complaint prior to arraignment, arguing that the act's amended definition of "delinquent child" should apply retroactively to his case, and that the Juvenile Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate him a "delinquent child" because he was eleven years old at the time of the alleged offense. The Commonwealth opposed the motion to dismiss, and the motion judge denied it.
2. Miles. On June 13, 2018, police filed an application for a complaint against Miles for trespassing in violation of G. L. c. 266, § 120, and disorderly conduct in violation of G. L. c. 272, § 53 (b ). The following day, a Juvenile Court clerk found that both charges were supported by probable cause. A delinquency complaint issued against Miles on June 15. When he appeared for arraignment on July 9, Miles moved to dismiss the charges against him prior to arraignment, arguing that because he had no prior criminal or delinquency record, neither charged offense was a qualifying offense under the amended definition of "delinquent child."
The Juvenile Court judge denied Miles's motion to dismiss, as well as his request to postpone the arraignment. The judge asserted that the act did not apply to the juvenile's case because he was not charged with a school-based offense or a civil infraction. The judge further reasoned that arraignment was proper because **328"[t]here are no fines that are affixed under the juvenile law" and because the Department of Youth Services (department) "is not a place of incarceration," but one of rehabilitation. The Juvenile Court judge proceeded to arraign Miles, and his case was pending when the amended definition of "delinquent child" became effective (and remains pending).
3. Petitions pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3. Both juveniles filed interlocutory petitions for extraordinary relief pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, requesting that a single justice of the county court exercise this court's general superintendence power to reverse the decisions of the Juvenile Court judges in their respective cases. A single justice of the county court reserved and reported both cases for determination by the full court.
*538Discussion. Because this case turns on a question of statutory interpretation, we review the juveniles' motions to dismiss de novo. Commonwealth v. Martin,
1. Statutory presumption of prospective application. To determine whether the amended definition of "delinquent child" applies retroactively, we first must determine whether the rule of statutory construction described in G. L. c. 4, § 6, Second, is **329applicable here. General Laws c. 4, § 6, Second, provides in relevant part:
"In construing statutes the following rules shall be observed, unless their observance would involve a construction inconsistent with the manifest intent of the law-making body or repugnant to the context of the same statute: ... Second, The repeal of a statute shall not affect any punishment, penalty or forfeiture incurred before the repeal takes effect, or any suit, prosecution or proceeding pending at the time of the repeal for an offence committed ... under the statute repealed" (emphasis added).
Because this particular rule of construction applies only to "strictly penal" statutes, Commonwealth v. Dotson,
The juveniles argue that G. L. c. 4, § 6, is not applicable here because the Juvenile Court is not a penal institution and the department's purpose is rehabilitation, not punishment. They contend that a statute articulating the jurisdiction of a nonpenal institution cannot qualify as a "strictly penal" statute subject to the rule of construction outlined in G. L. c. 4, § 6, Second.
A statute, however, need not be criminal to be penal. Any "statute designed to enforce the law by punishing offenders, rather than simply by enforcing restitution to those damaged, is in the nature of a penal statute." Johnson's Case,
2. Exceptions to presumption of prospectivity. As the preamble to G. L. c. 4, § 6, makes clear, the "presumption of prospective application ... is not absolute," and is subject to two exceptions explicitly provided for in the preamble. Commonwealth v. Bradley,
a. Legislature's manifest intent. "The presumption of prospective application is inconsistent with the manifest intent of the law-making body where there is a clearly expressed intention of the Legislature that the new statute apply retroactively" (quotations and citation omitted). Bradley,
We conclude that there is inadequate evidence of the Legislature's manifest intent to apply § 72 retroactively to overcome the **332presumption of prospective application. Although the Legislature clearly established the effective date of § 72, see St. 2018, c. 69, § 232, it did not clearly establish whether the definition of "delinquent child," once it became effective, would apply retroactively to pending cases. See Bradley,
b. Repugnancy. Even where prospective application is not inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Legislature, retroactive application is appropriate if prospective application would be "repugnant to the context" of the statutory amendment narrowing the Juvenile Court's jurisdiction. G. L. c. 4, § 6. The "presumption of prospective application is 'repugnant to the context of the ... statute' where it would be contrary to the purpose of the statute to delay the accomplishment of that purpose." Bradley,
The legislative history of the act indicates that the Legislature understood that children who enter the juvenile justice system have a higher risk of reoffending for the remainder of their lives, and that their risk of recidivism is greater the earlier they enter the system. See State House News Service (House Sess.), Nov. 13, 2017 (statement of Rep. Claire D. Cronin, co-chair, Joint Committee on Judiciary) ("the earlier a child become[s] involved" in justice system, "the more likely that child will remain in the system through his or her life"); State House News Service (House Sess.), Apr. 4, 2018 (statement of Rep. Kay Khan, co-chair, Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities) (amendment that "raises juvenile jurisdiction from [seven] to [twelve]," among other amendments, "will give young people a second chance"); State House News Service (Senate Sess.), Oct. 26, 2017 (statement of Sen. William N. Brownsberger, co-chair, Joint Committee on Judiciary) ("decriminalizing childhood behaviors" part of effort to "cut the chains that hold people down when they're trying to get back up on their feet").
*542It is clear from the text of § 72 that the Legislature intended to reduce the number of children who enter the juvenile justice system by narrowing the definition of "delinquent child" to exclude children below the age of twelve and children who commit civil infractions, violate a municipal ordinance or town bylaw, or commit a first offense of a minor misdemeanor. In so doing, the Legislature implicitly declared that the juvenile justice system is not the appropriate forum to address offenses committed by children under twelve, or civil infractions, or first offenses **334of a minor misdemeanor committed by any child, and that such matters should not result in a juvenile record that may later adversely affect a child and increase his or her risk to recidivate. We see no reason to delay the application of an amendment aimed at combatting the negative effects of Juvenile Court involvement on children and their communities. See Bradley,
The juveniles' cases are distinguishable from Watts,
Such concerns do not exist here. It takes no additional resources for the Juvenile Court to dismiss cases that were pending on July 12, 2018, where the juvenile no longer falls under the definition of "delinquent *543child." On the contrary, narrowing the **335jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court to exclude certain children will reduce the number of cases before the Juvenile Court, conserving its resources as opposed to stretching them. Therefore, unlike in Watts,
The jurisdictional nature of § 72 reinforces our conclusion that retroactive application is appropriate here. As of July 12, 2018, the Juvenile Court no longer has jurisdiction to adjudicate as a "delinquent child" either of the children who are involved in these cases. See G. L. c. 119, § 52, as amended through St. 2018, c. 69, § 72; G. L. c. 119, § 58. Because jurisdiction is a threshold requirement for a court to decide any case, it would have been logical for the Legislature to expect that Juvenile Court proceedings against children who were removed from the definition of "delinquent child" would cease and the cases would be dismissed on the day that § 72 became effective. See Mogelinski,
Because we conclude that prospective application of St. 2018, c. 69, § 72, would be repugnant to its context, we hold that the amended definition of "delinquent child" applies retroactively to cases pending on its effective date of July 12, 2018. Therefore, the juveniles in these cases are not subject to the Juvenile Court's jurisdiction.
Conclusion. We vacate the decisions denying both juveniles' motions to dismiss and remand the matters to the Juvenile Court for dismissal.
So ordered.
The Legislature also raised from seven to twelve the minimum age at which a complaint could issue against a child. See St. 2018, c. 69, § 73, amending G. L. c. 119, § 54.
A pseudonym.
A pseudonym.
We acknowledge the amicus briefs submitted by the youth advocacy division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and by the district attorney for the Bristol district.
A pseudonym.
Lazlo L. has yet to be arraigned, because a Juvenile Court judge allowed his motion to stay the proceedings pending this interlocutory appeal.
The parties agree that Miles M. had no prior record and that both trespass and disorderly conduct are punishable by a fine, imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than six months, or both. See G. L. c. 266, § 120 (trespass "punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both such fine and imprisonment"); G. L. c. 272, § 53 (b ), as appearing in St. 2018, c. 69, § 160 ("Disorderly persons and disturbers of the peace shall, for a first offense, be punished by a fine of not more than $ 150").
The Juvenile Court judge who denied Miles's motion to dismiss the case and to stay the arraignment held that the amendment excluding from the definition of "delinquent child" a child who commits a "first offense of a misdemeanor for which the punishment is a fine, imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than [six] months or both such fine and imprisonment," St. 2018, c. 69, § 72, did not apply to Miles's case. The judge reasoned that there are "no fines that are affixed under the juvenile law," and that offenses adjudicated in the Juvenile Court are not punishable by imprisonment for any period of time because the Department of Youth Services is a place of rehabilitation, and not of incarceration. However, in determining whether an individual may be adjudicated a "delinquent child" under the amended definition, a court must focus on the possible sentences under the particular statutes criminalizing an offender's conduct, not on the dispositions available to the Juvenile Court. Here, the statutes criminalizing trespass and disorderly conduct both provide for sentences in the form of a fine, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. See G. L. c. 266, § 120 ; G. L. c. 272, § 53 (b ). Miles, therefore, would not qualify as a "delinquent child" under the amended definition provided for in § 72.
The Commonwealth concedes that the judge also "erred in concluding that the amendment applies only to civil infractions or school-based offenses."
We deem an amendment of a penal statute to constitute an implicit repeal where the amendment is inconsistent with the statute's earlier provisions. Commonwealth v. Bradley,
The Commonwealth asserts that because Miles did not raise arguments concerning the nonpenal nature of Juvenile Court proceedings in his motion to dismiss or in his G. L. c. 211, § 3, petition, the issue whether to apply G. L. c. 4, § 6, Second, is not properly before this court. Because the applicability of G. L. c. 4, § 6, is a threshold issue we must evaluate in order to assess the Commonwealth's and the juveniles' claims under this statute, we address it here.
"If a child is adjudicated a delinquent child on a complaint, the court may ... commit him [or her] to the custody of the department of youth services" for no "longer than until such child attains the age of eighteen, or nineteen in the case of a child whose case is disposed of after he has attained his eighteenth birthday or age [twenty] in the case of a child whose case is disposed of after he has attained his nineteenth birthday." G. L. c. 119, § 58.
Because we conclude that G. L. c. 4, § 6, Second, is applicable here, we need not address the parties' common-law arguments.
We think it helpful to look to the statements of proponents of legislation in order to discern its purpose. See Bradley,
Having concluded that prospective application of St. 2018, c. 69, § 72, would be repugnant to its context, we need not address the juveniles' constitutional arguments.
In his G. L. c. 211, § 3, petition, Miles requested that the county court vacate his arraignment and expunge the charges of trespass and disorderly conduct from his delinquency record. Because Miles's arraignment took place on July 9, 2018, prior to the effective date of § 72, we decline to vacate it.