In Re Ricardo M.

The petition for habeas corpus here before us raises the issue of the right of the juvenile court to impose as a condition of probation, granted after an adjudication of wardship pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, the requirement that the minor spend not less than 5 nor more than 20 days in juvenile hall as determined by the hall’s staff. The issue is one in which decisions of the Court of Appeal in In re Preston B., 273 Cal.App.2d 607 [ 78 Cal.Rptr. 436 ], and In re Bacon, 240 Cal.App.2d 34 [ 49 Cal.Rptr. 322 ], on the one hand, and In re Debra A., 48 Cal.App.3d 327 [ 121 Cal.Rptr. 757 ], on the other, are in seeming conflict. We conclude that the juvenile court was empowered to impose the condition of probation.

While already on probation under the juvenile court law, 14-year-old Ricardo M. was again, pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, adjudicated a ward of the court on March 27, 1975. The offense charged was possession of marijuana. Ricardo was placed on probation and continued in the custody of his mother. On April 1, 1975, another petition was filed, pursuant to section 602, alleging that Ricardo had committed three…