State v. Q.D.
Supreme Court of Washington
685 P.2d 557 (1984)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
When he was 11 ½ years-old, Q.D. (defendant) committed first-degree trespass, a felony if it had been committed by an adult. In a pretrial juvenile court proceeding to determine whether Q.D. possessed the capacity to understand the nature of his act and that it was wrong, a case worker and a detective each testified. The case worker testified that Q.D. was familiar with the justice system, was street wise, and that he used his age as a shield. The detective testified that Q.D. had been cooperative nearly two years earlier in a burglary investigation being conducted which resulted in Q.D. plea of guilty to the offense. Evidence in the guilt phase of the trespass case was provided by the principal and a custodial engineer of the school Q.D. was charged with trespassing. A judge found that Q.D. possessed the capacity to commit crime and a separate judge adjudicated Q.D. of first-degree trespass. Q.D. and another juvenile in a similar case appealed their separate adjudications. The court of appeals consolidated the cases and affirmed the adjudications. Q.D. and the other juvenile appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Dimmick, J.)
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