The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Crowell v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office on February 16, 2012.
Juvenile Sex-Related Acts—Competency—Pyschosexual Management Plan—Self Incrimination—Due Process.
This case involves C.Y., a boy charged with having committed sex-related delinquent acts. After finding the boy incompetent to stand trial, the magistrate created a management plan requiring the boy to undergo a psychosexual evaluation. On review, the district court held that the boy should not be required to undergo the psychosexual evaluation. The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded with directions.
The boy was 11 years old when his 9-year-old sister reported to the police that he had grabbed her “butt” and “privates” many times over a four-month period. The boy suffers from significant mental and developmental disorders, including a serious brain injury, due in part to complications at birth. He lives with his mother and sister and receives extensive therapy and special education.
The boy was charged with having committed three delinquent acts that would constitute the adult offenses of aggravated incest, unlawful sexual contact, and assault in the third degree. He was released on bond to live with his mother. His sister initially was removed from the home, but after a safety plan was worked out, she returned.
The magistrate granted the request of the boy’s lawyer to have him evaluated to determine whether he was competent to stand trial. The magistrate found he was “incompetent to proceed to adjudication in this matter and cannot be restored to competency.” Following a hearing, a management plan was agreed on, except for a portion of the plan requiring the boy to undergo a psychosexual evaluation.
Several therapists and teachers who worked with the boy testified as to their concerns that he would not understand the evaluation or not be able to respond appropriately. The magistrate decided the boy should have the evaluation. The boy sought review of this decision and the district court agreed that the inclusion of the psychosexual evaluation in the treatment plan was legal error. The People appealed.
The Court of Appeals held that the magistrate’s order for a psychosexual evaluation did not violate the boy’s rights and that the district court erred when it set aside that part of the order. The Court looked to the legislative purposes of the Children’s Code. It also noted that CRS §19-2-1305(3) makes inadmissible evidence that is obtained during an evaluation or treatment related to the juvenile’s competency or incompetency. The privileges against compelled self-incrimination are not violated if, as here, juveniles are given immunity that is coextensive with the protections afforded by the Fifth Amendment.
The boy argued that the court undermined his due process right to be presumed innocent by requiring the psychosexual evaluation. The Court held that because the magistrate found that the boy is incompetent to stand trial and cannot be restored to competency, he will never stand trial. Therefore, the presumption of innocence was not implicated in requiring the evaluation.
This summary is published here courtesy of The Colorado Lawyer. Other summaries for the Colorado Court of Appeals on February 16, 2012, can be found here.
