Luis M. v. Superior Court

Luis M. challenges an order that he pay the' City of Lancaster (the City) over $3,800 in restitution for felony vandalism based on nine acts of defacement by graffiti. The Court of Appeal granted this minor’s writ of mandate.

When a minor’s actions involve graffiti, the Legislature has expanded the juvenile court’s general authority to grant restitution. It has enacted a tailored scheme permitting reliance on a city’s average costs to investigate and remediate graffiti. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 742.14, 742.16.) The statutes contain specific guidelines for what costs may be included. They also require periodic review and adoption of a local ordinance. The City had not passed such an ordinance nor had it reviewed its “cost model” within the statutory timeframe. Thus, the expanded restitution model cannot support the award here. The court had more general restitution authority under section 730.6. As explained below, however, the court’s award was not based on sufficient evidence that the amount of claimed loss was a result of Luis’s conduct. The award also included police investigation costs not usually recoverable under the more general restitution statutes.

Accordingly,…