SHEILA O. v. Superior Court

Petitioner Sheila O. seeks a writ to compel respondent juvenile court to permit her to testify at a hearing to determine fitness for treatment as a juvenile without risking use of the testimony in a later determination of guilt.

A petition has been filed in the juvenile court alleging that petitioner comes within the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 because she committed robbery (Pen. Code, § 211) and assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)). The district attorney sought certification that petitioner, who was 16 at the time of the alleged offenses, was unfit for juvenile proceedings. The juvenile court held a hearing for the purpose of determining fitness pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, subdivision (b).

At that hearing, the district attorney submitted the probation report, which recommended trial in the adult criminal court. The probation report relates that the victim, a 50-year-old woman, was attacked while walking home after getting off a bus. A male and two females approached her. She was struck on the head and knocked to the ground. Her purse was taken and she was shot twice as she lay on the ground.…