People v. Western (In re Western)

*973 INTRODUCTION

The juvenile court found that Dean W. (the ward) had committed a misdemeanor violation of Vehicle Code section 23152, driving under the influence. The court later found that the ward had successfully completed his probation and terminated his wardship. The court granted the ward's request to seal his juvenile court records, except for one document regarding his acknowledgement that he knew driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol was dangerous to human life.

The Welfare and Institutions Code allows minors who have completed their rehabilitation to have "all" records of their juvenile adjudication sealed. The Vehicle Code authorizes criminal prosecutors to use a criminal defendant's acknowledgement of the dangerousness of driving under the influence as evidence of implied malice in a later second degree murder case. We publish this case because, based on the words of the statutes and their underlying purposes and policies, the ward's right to have all of his juvenile records sealed includes the ward's acknowledgement of the dangerousness of driving under the influence. Therefore, we reverse the juvenile court's order, with directions to seal the entirety…