Training requirements for children's counsel in delinquency proceedings (§ 634.3)

(a) Definition

"Competent counsel" means an attorney who is a member, in good standing, of the State Bar of California, who provides representation in accordance with Welfare and Institutions Code section 634.3(a)(1)-(3), and who has participated in training in the law and practice of juvenile delinquency as defined in this rule.

(b) Education and training requirements

(1) Only those attorneys who, during each of the most recent three calendar years, have dedicated at least 50 percent of their practice to juvenile delinquency and demonstrated competence or who have completed a minimum of 12 hours of training or education during the most recent 12-month period in the area of juvenile delinquency, may be appointed to represent youth.

(2) Attorney training must include:

(A) An overview of delinquency law and related statutes and cases;

(B) Trial skills, including drafting and filing pretrial motions, introducing evidence at trial, preserving the record for appeal, filing writs, notices of appeal, and posttrial motions;

(C) Advocacy at the detention phase;

(D) Advocacy at the dispositional phase;

(E) Child and adolescent development, including training on interviewing and working with adolescent clients;

(F) Competence and mental health issues, including capacity to commit a crime and the effects of trauma, child abuse, and family violence, as well as crossover issues presented by youth involved in the dependency system;

(G) Police interrogation methods, suggestibility of juveniles, and false confessions;

(H) Counsel's ethical duties, including racial, ethnic, and cultural understanding and addressing bias;

(I) Cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth;

(J) Understanding of the effects of and how to work with victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth;

(K) Immigration consequences and the requirements of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status;

(L) General and special education, including information on school discipline;

(M) Extended foster care;

(N) Substance abuse;

(O) How to secure effective rehabilitative resources, including information on available community-based resources;

(P) Direct and collateral consequences of court involvement;

(Q) Transfer of jurisdiction to criminal court hearings and advocacy in adult court;

(R) Appellate advocacy; and

(S) Advocacy in the postdispositional phase.

(c) Continuing education requirements

(1) To remain eligible for appointment to represent delinquent youth, attorneys must engage in annual continuing education in the areas listed in (b)(2), as follows:

(A) Attorneys must complete at least 8 hours per calendar year of continuing education, for a total of 24 hours, during each MCLE compliance period.

(B) An attorney who is eligible to represent delinquent youth for only a portion of the corresponding MCLE compliance period must complete training hours in proportion to the amount of time the attorney was eligible. An attorney who is eligible to represent delinquent youth for only a portion of a calendar year must complete two hours of training for every three months of eligibility.

(C) The 12 hours of initial training may be applied toward the continuing training requirements for the first compliance period.

(2) Each individual attorney is responsible for complying with the training requirements in this rule; however, offices of the public defender and other agencies that work with delinquent youth are encouraged to provide MCLE training that meets the training requirements in (b)(2).

(3) Each individual attorney is encouraged to participate in policy meetings or workgroups convened by the juvenile court and to participate in local trainings designed to address county needs.

(d) Evidence of competency

The court may require evidence of the competency of any attorney appointed to represent a youth in a delinquency proceeding, including requesting documentation of trainings attended. The court may also require attorneys who represent youth in delinquency proceedings to complete Declaration of Eligibility for Appointment to Represent Youth in Delinquency Court (JV-700).