In re J.E.R.-P.

1

IN THE MATTER OF J.E.R.-P.

No. 04-22-00168-CV

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourth District, San Antonio

March 15, 2023

From the County Court at Law No. 1, Webb County, Texas Trial Court No. 2021JV1000086L1 Honorable Hugo Martinez, Judge Presiding

Sitting: Rebeca C. Martinez, Chief Justice, Irene Rios Justice, Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice

MEMORANDUM OPINION

IRENE RIOS, JUSTICE

This is an accelerated appeal under section 56.01(h-1) of the Texas Family Code.^[1] Appellant J.E.R.-P. appeals the juvenile court's order denying his plea to the jurisdiction and granting the State's petition to transfer his case to the criminal district court. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN § 56.01(h-1). We vacate the juvenile court's order granting the State's petition to transfer J.E.R.-P.'s case to the criminal district court and dismiss trial court cause No. 2021JV1000086L1, pending in County Court at Law No 1, Webb County, Texas.

Background

J.E.R.-P. is charged with committing an offense under section 19.02 of the Penal Code on December 1, 2018, when he was sixteen years old. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 19.02. J.E.R.-P. was born February 24, 2002. Shortly after the alleged offense, the State initiated proceedings against J.E.R.-P.; however, the case was not adjudicated prior to J.E.R.-P.'s eighteenth birthday, February 24, 2020.

Following J.E.R.-P.'s nineteenth birthday, the State filed a petition on October 26, 2021, seeking the juvenile court's waiver of its exclusive, original jurisdiction and transfer of J.E.R.-P. to a district court to be tried as an adult (the "transfer petition"). See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 54.02. J.E.R.-P. filed a plea to the jurisdiction arguing the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction to consider the State's transfer petition because it failed to file the petition before he turned eighteen. In turn, the State, relying on sections 51.0412 and 54.02(j) of the Texas Family Code, argued the juvenile court retained jurisdiction over the juvenile after his eighteenth birthday. See id. §§ 51.0412, 54.02(j). The juvenile court denied J.E.R.-P.'s plea to the jurisdiction.

On March 10, 2022, despite J.E.R.-P.'s continued jurisdictional challenges, the juvenile court granted the State's transfer petition and signed the transfer order.

J.E.R.-P. appeals the juvenile court's order denying his plea to the jurisdiction and granting the State's transfer petition.

J.E.R.-P. raises two issues on appeal. In both issues, J.E.R.-P. argues the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction to hear the State's transfer petition asserting (1) the State failed to file its transfer petition prior to J.E.R.-P.'s eighteenth birthday; and (2) the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction to order the transfer because section 51.0412 of the Texas Family Code does not apply. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 51.0412.

The State maintains the juvenile court had jurisdiction to hear and grant the State's transfer petition pursuant to sections 51.0412 and 54.02(j) of the Texas Family Code. See id. §§ 51.0412, 54.02(j).

Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

A. Applicable Law

The Juvenile Justice Code ("the Code") governs delinquency proceedings. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. §§ 51.01-61.107. When a child engages in behavior that would be considered criminal if committed by an adult, the child's behavior is called "delinquent conduct." Id. § 51.03(a)(1). Juvenile courts have exclusive, original jurisdiction over cases involving children ten years old or older and under seventeen years of age who have allegedly engaged in delinquent conduct. Id. §§ 51.02(2)(A), 51.04(a). The Code further defines a "child" as a person seventeen years of age or older and under eighteen years of age who allegedly engaged in or was found to have engaged in delinquent conduct resulting from acts committed before the juvenile's seventeenth birthday. Id. § 51.02(2)(B).

A juvenile court does not lose jurisdiction when a juvenile turns eighteen, but its jurisdiction becomes limited, and the juvenile court can either transfer the case to an appropriate court or dismiss the case. See In re B.R.H., 426 S.W.3d 163, 166 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (citing In re N.J.A., 997 S.W.2d 554, 556 (Tex. 1999)); see also Moore v. State, 532 S.W.3d 400, 404 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017). Specifically,

if certain proceedings^[2] are pending when the juvenile turns eighteen, including transfer to criminal [district] court under [s]ection 54.02(a), then the juvenile court can retain jurisdiction if (1) the petition was filed before the juvenile turned eighteen, (2) the proceeding was incomplete when the juvenile turned eighteen, and (3) the [juvenile] court finds that the State exercised due diligence to complete proceedings before the juvenile turned eighteen.

In re J.C.W.G., 613 S.W.3d 560, 566 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 2020, no pet.); see TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. §§ 51.0412, 54.02(a).

Thus, section 51.0412 provides an exception extending the juvenile court's jurisdiction when the State begins transfer proceedings before the juvenile turns eighteen but fails to complete the transfer proceedings before the juvenile's eighteenth birthday. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 51.0412; see also Morrison v. State, 503 S.W.3d 724, 727-28 &n.4 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, pet. ref'd) (noting, under section 51.0412, "when a petition to transfer is filed before a respondent turns eighteen and the proceeding is not completed before the respondent's eighteenth birthday" a juvenile court retains jurisdiction over the transfer proceeding based on whether the juvenile court makes a finding "'the prosecuting attorney exercised due diligence in an attempt to complete the proceeding before the respondent became [eighteen]'" (emphasis added) (quoting TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 51.0412(3))).

Moreover, the Court of Criminal Appeals clarified by explaining Texas Family Code section 51.04(a) and Texas Government Code section 23.001 "relate to a juvenile court's jurisdiction and [Texas Family Code section 54.02(j)] provides a juvenile court with limited authority to waive its jurisdiction and transfer a person who is [eighteen] years of age or older to a district court if certain criteria are met." Moore, 532 S.W.3d at 404; see also TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. §§ 51.04(a), 54.02(j); TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 23.001.^[3]

B. Standard of Review

"We review a trial court's interpretation of the law de novo." J.C.W.G., 613 S.W.3d at 568. A trial court has no discretion in determining what the law is or properly applying the law. In re Tex. Dep't of Family Protective Servs., 210 S.W.3d 609, 612 (Tex. 2006). A court abuses its discretion if it fails to properly interpret the law or applies the law incorrectly. Id.

C. Analysis

J.E.R.-P. argues that because the State failed to file its transfer petition prior to his eighteenth birthday, the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction to consider the State's transfer petition, and section 51.0412 does not apply. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 51.0412. The State, on the other hand, contends section 51.0412 allowed the juvenile court to retain jurisdiction and, the juvenile court had jurisdiction to hear and grant the State's transfer petition because it met the criteria set forth in section 54.02(j). We agree with J.E.R.-P.

Section 54.02(j) does not confer jurisdiction on the juvenile court. Rather, under section 54.02(j) ^[4] if certain criteria are met, a juvenile court may waive its exclusive, original jurisdiction retained under section 51.0412. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. §§ 51.0412, 54.02(j); see also Moore, 532 S.W.3d at 404; Morrison, 503 S.W.3d at 727-28 &n.4. For a juvenile court to retain exclusive, original jurisdiction, section 51.0142 requires the State file the transfer petition prior to the juvenile's eighteenth birthday, the transfer proceedings remain incomplete prior to the juvenile's eighteenth birthday, and the juvenile court find the prosecuting attorney exercised due diligence in attempting to complete the proceedings before the juvenile turned eighteen. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 51.0412.

Subsections 54.02(a) and (j), depending on the respondent's age, dictate how the transfer hearing is conducted and findings that the juvenile court must make to support an order waiving its jurisdiction and transferring a case to a criminal district court. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. §§ 54.02(a),^[5] (j). Section 51.0412 allows the juvenile court to retain its jurisdiction to hear the transfer proceedings only when the transfer petition is filed prior to the juvenile's eighteenth birthday. See id. § 51.0412.

Because the State failed to file the transfer petition before J.E.R.-P.'s eighteenth birthday, the juvenile court did not retain jurisdiction under section 51.0412 to decide the State's transfer petition. See id.; see also Moore, 532 S.W.3d at 404; Morrison, 503 S.W.3d at 727-28 &n.4. Thus, we conclude the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction to grant the transfer petition. Without a petition to transfer filed before J.E.R.-P.'s eighteenth birthday, the juvenile court's jurisdiction was limited to dismissing the case. See Moore, 532 S.W.3d 400, 404-05 (discussing In re N.J.A., 997 S.W.2d 554, 556-57 (Tex. 1999), which held that, if the person is over the age of eighteen and conditions allowing for a transfer to district court have not been satisfied, the juvenile court's only option is to dismiss the case^[6]).

The juvenile court erred in denying J.E.R.-P's plea to the jurisdiction. We sustain J.E.R.-P.'s first issue and the subparts of his second issue pertaining to J.E.R-P. arguing the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction to decide the State's transfer petition.^[7]

Conclusion

The juvenile court's order transferring J.E.R.-P.'s juvenile proceeding to district court is vacated and we dismiss trial court cause No....