In Re CH

CANTIL-SAKAUYE, C. J.—

May a court commit to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF), a juvenile who has not committed an offense described in subdivision (b) of Welfare and Institutions Code section 707? Two statutes govern the answer. Welfare and Institutions Code section 731 authorizes a juvenile court to commit a juvenile who has been adjudged a ward of the court to the DJF if the ward has committed an offense described in subdivision (b) of Welfare and Institutions Code Section 707 "and" the ward "is not otherwise ineligible for commitment to the division under [Welfare and Institutions Code] Section 733." (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 731, subd. (a)(4) (hereafter section 731(a)(4)).) [1] Section 733 makes a ward ineligible for commitment to the DJF when " the most recent offense alleged in any petition and admitted or found to be true by the court is not described in subdivision (b) of Section 707, unless the offense is a sex offense set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 290.008 of the Penal Code." (§ 733, subd. (c) (italics added, hereafter section 733(c).)

Here, the juvenile court committed a juvenile ward, C.H., to the DJF…