In re V.O. CA6

DISCUSSION

Minor did not appeal from the dispositional order entered after the court sustained the “A” petition. However, she appealed from the later dispositional order entered after the “E” petition was sustained. Minor argues, and the Attorney General concedes, that the court’s failure to indicate whether the violation of Vehicle Code section 10851, subdivision (a) sustained from her “A” petition was a felony or a misdemeanor is tantamount to an unauthorized sentence so it can be raised at any time. (In re Ramon M. (2009) 178 Cal.App.4th 665, 675.) We agree. We also accept the Attorney General’s concession that remand is required. Welfare and Institutions Code section 702 provides that in a juvenile proceeding, if a minor “is found to have committed an offense which would in the case of an adult be punishable alternatively as a felony or a misdemeanor, the court shall declare the offense to be a misdemeanor or felony.” The importance of an explicit declaration under Welfare and Institutions Code section 702 was explained in our Supreme Court’s decision in In re Manzy W. (1997) 14 Cal.4th 1199 (Manzy W.). Requiring a court to affirmatively declare whether an offense is a…