N.T.D., A Child Alleged to Be a Delinquent v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2020 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Feb 19 2020, 10:28 am
court except for the purpose of establishing
CLERK
the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
R. Patrick Magrath Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Madison, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Courtney Staton
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
N.T.D., A Child Alleged to Be a February 19, 2020
Delinquent, Court of Appeals Case No.
Appellant-Defendant, 19A-JV-1971
Appeal from the Jennings Circuit
v. Court
The Honorable Jon W. Webster,
State of Indiana, Judge
Appellee-Plaintiff. Trial Court Cause No.
40C01-1809-JD-6
Tavitas, Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] N.D. appeals from the juvenile court’s modification of its dispositional order to
order N.D. to be committed to the Department of Correction (“DOC”) for
housing in the Indiana Boys School. We affirm.
Issue
[2] The sole issue on appeal is whether the juvenile court abused its discretion
when it committed N.D. to the DOC.
Facts
[3] On August 20, 2018, while N.D. resided in the Jackson County Juvenile
Residence (“group home”), N.D. damaged the group home’s property. 1 N.D.’s
offense would constitute criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor, if
committed by an adult. On August 23, 2018, the State filed a petition alleging
that N.D. was a juvenile delinquent. On August 28, 2018, N.D. admitted the
allegation.
[4] Jennings County accepted the matter for disposition in October 2018. The
juvenile court conducted a dispositional hearing on January 3, 2019, and N.D.
was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent. The next day, the juvenile court
approved an agreement wherein N.D. would be placed on supervised probation
1
The Jennings County Department of Child Services placed N.D. in the Jackson County group home.
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for twelve months, with a suspended commitment to the DOC. N.D was
allowed to return to the group home.
[5] On February 9, 2019, during an altercation with a fellow group home resident,
N.D. drew a knife and used an electronic-arc lighter to tase the resident. These
acts, which would constitute attempted battery with a deadly weapon, if
committed by an adult, violated the group home’s rules and the terms of N.D.’s
probation.
[6] The probation department filed a modification report on February 15, 2019,
wherein it alleged that N.D. violated his probation. The modification report
provides: “It is unsafe for [N.D.] to remain in the juvenile home”; “[h]e
escalated negative behavior while in placement . . . .”; “[h]e has been in
treatment, foster homes, and in the group home. He has had unsuccessful
counseling for years”; “[p]lacement is failing”; “[h]e is putting other childrens
[sic] safety at risk”; and “[h]e should be sentenced to Indiana Boys School.”
Appellant’s App. Vol. II pp. 81-82.
[7] On April 10, 2019, the juvenile court conducted a hearing on the request for
modification of the dispositional order. On April 15, 2019, the juvenile court
approved a new agreement that extended N.D.’s probation for an additional
year and placed N.D. in Lutherwood, a secure residential facility “for an
indeterminate period[.]” Tr. Vol. II p. 12.
[8] N.D. was subsequently involved in the following incidents at Lutherwood. On
April 25, 2019, N.D. stomped on a fellow resident’s foot and caused injury. On
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May 27, 2019, N.D. punched a fellow resident’s eye. On June 2, 2019, N.D.
broke a shelf while he tried to lock out group home staff; N.D. also stole and
snorted a fellow resident’s medication. On June 4, 2019, the probation
department, again, filed a petition to modify the dispositional order for the
foregoing offenses, which would be battery, criminal mischief, and theft, if
committed by an adult.
[9] The probation department’s second modification report provided: “[N.D.] is in
a long term DCS placement and is not taking treatment seriouosly [sic]. He
continues to have delinquent behavior”; [h]e shows very little effort at changing
his behavior”; [h]e has violated probation by numerous issue[s] while in
treatment”; [i]t is unsafe for him to remain in the juvenile home; and [h]e
should be sentenced to Indiana Boys School.” 2 Appellant’s App. Vol. II pp.
101-102. DCS contributed the following to the modification report: “DCS
needs help with this child that is unavailable except in a correctional setting.”
Id. at 103.
[10] On July 24, 2019, the juvenile court conducted a hearing on the second request
for modification of the dispositional order. N.D. admitted to the allegations of
property damage and substance use. Family case manager (“FCM”) Stacey
Lane of DCS testified that the first modification occurred when N.D. “had
2
As in the first modification report, the probation department stated that the placement was “failing” and
that N.D. “put[s] other childrens [sic] safety at risk.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 103.
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issues . . . in a less restrictive placement at the [group] home.” Id. at 17. As
FCM Lane testified:
. . . [W]e had found a placement with Lutherwood after the first
revocation [ ] due to the behaviors and the concern for [N.D.’s]
safety and [the] safety of others. [W]hile he’s been at
Lutherwood there have been several incident reports and the
latest that I had received was on June 26th [ ]where he and a peer
had locked himself into his room, [ ] jammed wood pieces in the
door, and then started banging on a window. They broke the
glass out of the window and bang-blanging (sic) [ ] on the
plexiglass of the window to break it out, um, in an elopement
attempt. [T]hose are behaviors that are concerning to [DCS] [ ]
in that he was placed at Lutherwood [ ] due to his concerns in a
lesser restrictive placement.
Tr. Vol. II p. 17.
[11] Jennings County probation officer Andrew Judd testified: “[W]e asked for the
[first] modification [ ] because the [group] home wasn’t the appropriate
placement and Lutherwood was found to be the best alternative at that time.”
Id. at 22. Judd testified further that, “There’[ve] been several incidents [ ] at
Lutherwood of aggressive behavior . . . .” Id. at 23. Judd also testified:
. . . [A] lot of us are pretty compassionate when it comes to
[N.D.], . . . however [N.D.’s] behavior has continued to decline,
he’s continued to have criminal activity while he’s in placement.
His most recent activity, though it’s not part of this allegation is
an escape attempt from that locked facility [ ] which was just the
end of last month, [ ] and I am concerned with what [N.D.]
might do if he did get out and escape from that facility . . . . [ ] I
think [N.D.’s] in a bad position, however, his criminal behavior
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is continuing to evolve, and so I think the Indiana Boy[s] School
is possibly the best place for him.
Id. at 23. Judd also testified that the Indiana Boys School is equipped to
provide psychological and psychiatric support that is comparable to the
treatment N.D. received at Lutherwood.
[12] At the close of the evidence, the juvenile court “award[ed] wardship of [N.D] to
the [DOC] for housing in the Indiana Boys School, or any correctional facility
for children determined appropriate . . . .” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 111.
N.D. now appeals.
Analysis
[13] N.D. argues that the juvenile court abused its discretion in ordering him
committed to the DOC. A juvenile court is accorded “wide latitude” and
“great flexibility” in its dealings with juveniles. J.S. v. State, 881 N.E.2d 26, 28
(Ind. Ct. App. 2008). “[T]he choice of a specific disposition of a juvenile
adjudicated a delinquent child is a matter within the sound discretion of the
juvenile court and will only be reversed if there has been an abuse of that
discretion.” Id. The juvenile court’s discretion in determining a disposition is
subject to the statutory considerations of the welfare of the child, the safety of
the community, and the policy of favoring the least-harsh disposition. Id. An
abuse of discretion occurs when the juvenile court’s action is “clearly
erroneous” and against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before
it. Id.
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[14] The goal of the juvenile process is rehabilitation, not punishment. R.H. v. State,
937 N.E.2d 386, 388 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). “Accordingly, juvenile courts have
a variety of placement options for juveniles with delinquency problems, none of
which are considered sentences.” Id. Indiana Code Section 31-37-18-6(1)(A)
provides that: “[i]f consistent with the safety of the community and the best
interest of the child, the juvenile court shall enter a dispositional decree that is
in the least restrictive (most family like) and most appropriate setting available.”
“[T]he statute contains language that reveals that a more restrictive placement
might be appropriate under certain circumstances.” J.S., 881 N.E.2d at 29.
The law requires only that the disposition selected be the least restrictive
disposition that is “consistent with the safety of the community and the best
interest of the child.” D.S. v. State, 829 N.E.2d 1081, 1085 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005).
[15] Given N.D.’s continued criminal activity and violations of the terms of his
supervised probation in less-restrictive placements, we cannot say that the
juvenile court abused its discretion here. The record reveals that attempts by
the juvenile court, probation officials, and DCS to place N.D. in less-restrictive
placements failed to rehabilitate N.D. Probation officer Judd and FCM Lane
each testified that N.D.’s bad behavior only escalated in less-restrictive
placements and recommended that N.D. be placed in the DOC; the juvenile
court acquiesced. N.D.’s case appears to be one in which a more restrictive
placement is appropriate. See J.S., 881 N.E.2d at 29. The juvenile court did not
abuse its discretion when it ordered N.D. to be committed to the DOC for
housing in the Indiana Boys School.
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Conclusion
[16] The juvenile court did not abuse its discretion when it ordered N.D. to be
committed to the DOC. We affirm.
[17] Affirmed.
Najam, J., and Vaidik, J., concur.
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