In re E.Y. CA2/2

DISCUSSION

I. Applicable law

“If the 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.” (§ 702.) The court is required to make an “explicit declaration” whether a so-called wobbler offense is a felony or a misdemeanor. (In re Manzy W. (1997) 14 Cal.4th 1199,

juvenile court, which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court.” Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code, unless otherwise noted. Penal Code section 245, subdivision (a)(1), states: “Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.”

3 1204 (Manzy W.).) “[N]either the pleading, the minute order, nor the setting of a felony-level period of physical confinement may substitute for a declaration by the juvenile court as to whether an…