People v. Superior Court of Kings Cnty.

*161 *386 Senate Bill No. 1391, enacted by the Legislature in 2018 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2018, ch. 1012, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2019) (Senate Bill No. 1391), eliminated prosecutors' ability to seek transfer of 14- and 15-year-olds from juvenile court to criminal (adult) court, except where such a minor is alleged to have committed a specified serious offense and is not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction. ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 707, subds. (a)(1), (2) & (b).)

Recently, in People v. Superior Court (T.D.) (F078697, Aug. 5, 2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 360 , ----, ----, 250 Cal.Rptr.3d 661 , 2019 WL 3542874 [2019 --- Cal.App. LEXIS ----, *----, *----] (slip opn. at pp. 2, 19) ( T.D. ), we held that Senate Bill No. 1391 validly amended Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016 (Proposition 57 or the Act). The Act had permitted such transfer, but only with juvenile court approval. 2 For the reasons stated in T.D. , we reject the claim of petitioner, the District Attorney of Kings County (the District Attorney), that Senate Bill No. 1391 unconstitutionally amended Proposition 57. We also address issues not before us in T.D. We hold: (1)…

One purpose of the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act (Proposition 57) is to require that judges determine whether juveniles should be transferred to criminal court. In contrast, Senate Bill No. 1391 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2018, ch. 1012, § 1) (Senate Bill 1391) effectively prohibits judges from determining whether certain juveniles should be transferred to criminal court. Whatever the wisdom of each enactment, it cannot be said that Senate Bill 1391 "further[s] the intent" (Prop. 57, § 5) of Proposition 57. As a result, Senate Bill 1391 is unconstitutional. (See Cal. Const., art II, § 10 (c).) I respectfully dissent from the majority's contrary holding, which is largely based on this court's decision People v. Superior Court ( T.D. ) (F078697, Aug. 5, 2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 360 , 250 Cal.Rptr.3d 661 , 2019 WL 3542874 [2019 --- Cal.App. LEXIS ----].

I.R. argues Senate Bill 1391 is consistent with the purposes of Proposition 57. The text of each enactment indicates otherwise.

A. Enumerated Purposes of Proposition

In section 2, Proposition 57 provides:

The enumerated intent to "require a judge, not a prosecutor, to decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult…