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In re Montrail M.5/15/1991
This appeal involves two adjudicatory hearings in the Circuit Court for Kent County, sitting as the juvenile court. Each was based upon a separate incident. In the hearing on the first incident, appellant Montrail M. was found to have committed the delinquent act of driving without a license. In the hearing on the second incident, appellants Montrail M., Harold S., Jr., and Matio C., as well as another juvenile who is not a party to this appeal, were each found to have committed a delinquent act by reason of possession
of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute. At subsequent disposition hearings, Montrail M. and Harold S., Jr. were committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Services for placement in the Hickey School. Matio C. was committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Services for placement in Hurlock Home. The appellants bring this consolidated appeal.
ISSUES
A.
Montrail M. contends that the juvenile court erred in the first adjudicatory hearing when it failed to ensure that he understood his "right to a contested proceeding" before it accepted his admission that he drove without a license.
B.
All three appellants contend that in the second adjudicatory hearing:
I. The juvenile court erred in failing to merge their "convictions" for possession of cocaine into their "convictions" for possession with intent to distribute,
II. The juvenile court erred in denying their motions to suppress, and
III. The juvenile court erred in admitting their out-of-court statements into evidence.
An underlying question in all of these issues is: when should a juvenile, against whom a delinquency petition has been filed, be treated like a criminal defendant? As we shall see, prior to a delinquency adjudication an accused juvenile is entitled to many, if not all, of the constitutional protections that are accorded a criminal defendant. See generally In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967). A delinquency adjudication is not a
criminal conviction, however, and a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent should not be considered or treated as a criminal. See In re Appeal Misc. No. 32, 29 Md. App. 701, 703, 351 A.2d 164 (1976).
We find merit in Montrail M.'s argument as to the first adjudicatory hearing. We find no merit, however, in any of the arguments regarding the second adjudicatory hearing.
A.
Driving Without a License
FACTS
At the start of the first adjudicatory hearing, defense counsel stated that Montrail M. "admits to driving the car without a license, Your Honor." The State's attorney then recited a statement of facts, to which defense counsel acquiesced. The statement indicated that a police officer, who knew Montrail M., caught the youngster driving through Chestertown in a borrowed car. At the time, Montrail M. was two months shy of his fifteenth birthday.
After listening to the statement of facts, the court concluded: "Since there is an admission then, the court has no problem at all with finding that Mr. [M.] is, has violated the laws and has performed the acts as stated and as admitted, confessed." Montrail M. argues in the appellants' brief that he "was never informed that he had a right to a contested hearing, to call witnesses, to put the State to its proof, or to any related right of a criminal defendant . . . ."
Discussion
" he constitutional privilege against self-incrimi
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