In Re Uriah R.

J.The novel issue presented is whether and to what extent a waiver of the right to appeal by a juvenile is effective to restrict appellate review. We conclude that, in general, juvenile waivers are subject to the same principles governing waivers by adults. Like an adult criminal defendant, a juvenile can knowingly and intelligently waive or restrict appellate review, particularly when the waiver is part of a plea bargain that includes a stipulated disposition. But where, as here, a juvenile admits the truth of criminal allegations and acknowledges the maximum length of a possible commitment to the California Youth Authority (CYA), without agreement that the juvenile court’s disposition will in fact be a CYA commitment, the waiver will not preclude the juvenile arguing on appeal that the commitment was an abuse of the juvenile court’s discretion.

Background

It was alleged in petitions filed by the District Attorney of Solano County that 16-year-old Uriah R. had committed possession of marijuana for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11359), attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 664), first degree robbery producing great bodily injury (§§ 211, 12022.7), assault with a deadly…