In re Elijah S. CA1/4

I. DISCUSSION

A. Maximum Time of Confinement (MTC) When the juvenile court removes a minor from parental custody as the result of an order of wardship, Welfare and Institutions Code section 726 (Section 726) mandates that the court “must specify the maximum confinement term, i.e., the maximum term of imprisonment an adult would receive for the same offense.” (In re David H. (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 1131, 1133 (David H.); see also Welf. & Inst. Code, § 726, subd. (d); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.795(b) [if a minor is declared a ward and removed from parental custody “the court must specify and note in the minutes the maximum period of confinement under section 726”].)2 Section 726 permits the juvenile court, when calculating a minor’s MTC, to aggregate terms, both on the basis of multiple counts, and on previously sustained Section 602 petitions. (In re Adrian R. (2000) 85 Cal.App.4th 448, 454.) In particular, “[w]hen aggregating multiple counts and previously sustained

2 Specifically, Welfare and Institutions Code section 726, subdivision (d), provides in relevant part: “If the minor is removed from the physical custody of his or her parent or guardian as the result of an…