The State - News from Dec. 25, 1985

Juveniles who challenge traffic tickets in informal proceedings before a hearing officer have the right to a court-appointed lawyer if they cannot afford one, the state Supreme Court ruled. The 6-1 decision reversed the 1981 guilty plea of a Merced County youth, identified as Kevin G., to a misdemeanor charge of drunk driving because he was not told he had the right to a court-appointed lawyer. The system of informal traffic hearings was authorized by a 1961 state law. The court said Kevin was asked to choose between juvenile court and an informal hearing, and was told he had the right to a court-appointed lawyer in juvenile court. He waived his rights to a juvenile court hearing and a lawyer, but later contended he should have been told that he had a right to a lawyer in either forum. A Merced County Superior Court judge and the 5th District Court of Appeal ruled in the youth’s favor and the Supreme Court agreed.