Scott

After a jury found Deon LaShawn Scott guilty of two counts of armed robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 1192.7, subd. (c)(8), 12022.5, subd. (a)(1)), the court sentenced him to a total prison term of 11 years, four months. Because Scott had committed the robberies when he was 17 years old and after the passage of Proposition 21, known as the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998, which enacted Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, subdivision (d)(1), the People directly charged Scott as an adult under that section in this case. Scott appeals, contending his adult convictions should be set aside because Proposition 21 is constitutionally invalid. He specifically argues Proposition 21 violates constitutional mandates because it was not limited to a single subject and its text in the ballot pamphlet differed from the text circulated among voters for signature. He also asserts section 707, subdivision (d)(1) is invalid because it delegates to the executive branch the decision whether to prosecute a juvenile in the adult system which violates separation of powers principles embodied in both the United States and California Constitutions.

Scott’s first and third…