In re Jermaine B

In In re Jermaine B. (1999) 69 Cal. App. 4th 634, the defendant's minority was discovered by the prosecution two weeks after he had been sentenced to jail in accordance with a negotiated plea agreement. (Jermaine B., supra, 69 Cal. App. 4th at pp. 637-638.) The prosecution then sought certification of the matter to juvenile court pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 604, after which it contended that the defendant had waived any right to an adjudicatory hearing in that court by misrepresenting his age and pleading no contest in adult court. The juvenile court agreed, and committed the defendant to the Youth Authority for an indeterminate term of up to five years. (Jermaine B., at pp. 638-639.) The Court of Appeal reversed, reasoning that the defendant had only "conditionally waived his right to a contested disposition of his guilt or innocence. This waiver was expressly conditioned on an agreement that he would be sentenced as an adult, placed on probation, and serve no more than 180 days in the county jail. . . . He was satisfied to go forward with the disposition to which he had agreed. The prosecution discovered appellant's misrepresentations and sought to set aside its agreement." (Id. at p. 640.) The Court of Appeal concluded that while the defendant had waived any right to specifically enforce his plea agreement by misrepresenting his age, "he did not waive his right to withdraw his plea and begin anew if he could not be sentenced in accordance with the terms and conditions of his agreement." (Id. at pp. 641-642.) In other words, the court did not find that the defendant was incapable of waiving his right to a juvenile disposition, but only that his waiver had been conditioned on an agreement that was rendered unenforceable after the prosecution brought his minority to the court's attention.