In re C.M. CA2/6

DISCUSSION

SYTF Commitment was Not Authorized Section 875 authorizes a juvenile court to commit a ward 14 years of age and older to a SYTF if the ward meets certain criteria. Relevant here are two criteria: “(1) The juvenile is adjudicated and found to be a ward of the court based on an offense listed in” section 707 subdivision (b) and “(2) The adjudication described in paragraph (1) is the most recent offense for which the juvenile has been adjudicated.” (§ 875, subd. (a)(1) & (2).) Before the enactment of section 875, our Supreme Court interpreted similar language in section 733, subdivision (c). Section 733, subdivision (c) prohibits a ward’s commitment to the DJJ3 if the ward’s “most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court is not described in” section 707, subdivision (b) or Penal Code, section 290.008, subdivision (c).4 The court held this language “is clear and lends

3 “The DJJ is also known as the Department of Corrections

and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF). [Citation] DJJ and DJF are used interchangeably in case law.” (In re J.B. (2022) 75 Cal.App.5th 410, 413, fn. 1.)

4 Section 875 was enacted as…