In Re Elizabeth S.

A juvenile court petition (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602) charged Elizabeth S., a minor, with three acts of burglary (Pen. Code, § 459). The minor admitted one act of burglary as a misdemeanor (see Pen. Code, § 17, subd. (b)) and the other allegations were dismissed pursuant to a negotiated plea. The minor was declared a ward of the court, placed with a probation officer, and released to the custody of her mother on various conditions, including completion of a term of 19 to 40 days in juvenile hall and payment of $50 to reimburse the county for the services of the deputy public defender who represented her. The minor’s appeal challenges only the condition that she reimburse the county for the costs of her legal representation.

The minor relies on In re Allen (1969) 71 Cal.2d 388 [ 78 Cal.Rptr. 207 , 455 P.2d 143 ], which held invalid a condition of probation requiring an adult defendant to reimburse the county for court-appointed counsel in a criminal proceeding. The rationale of the decision was that the condition would “chill” exercise of the constitutionally guaranteed right to counsel because knowledge that reimbursement could be required as a condition of probation “is…