In re Babak S.

Babak S. (defendant) was a juvenile with a long history of offenses. Multiple petitions were sustained against Babak with the result that he was placed on probation, and he was placed in detention at a county ranch facility. When Babak got into a fight with another youth at the ranch, his probation officer recommended that Babak should be committed to the California Youth Authority with that sentence suspended if Babak moved to Iran to stay with his family there. Babak’s family had requested that he be allowed to reside with them in Iran. In February 1992, the juvenile court ordered Babak’s commitment and suspended the commitment provided that Babak stay in Iran for two years, that he report to his probation officer upon return, and that he get court approval before changing his place of residence. Babak went with his father to Iran but returned after only two months after his grandmother’s death because he had no other place to stay. When Babak’s probation officer learned that Babak was back in the United States, she went to his parents’ home and found him living there. Babak had been in the United States for around six weeks and had not contacted his probation officer yet. At a hearing in August 1992, the juvenile court decided that its February 1992 order was ineffective in rehabilitating Babak and lifted the suspension from that order, committing Babak to the California Youth Authority. Babak appealed. On appeal, the appellate court considered the banishment condition, which the state did not try to justify, and the validity of imposing a suspended commitment to the California Youth Authority. Babak’s other claims were without merit.