In re D.P.

At all relevant times, minor D.P. was a ward of the court and a probationer under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, plus he was not in custody. The prosecuting attorney, filed a subsequent section 602 petition against him not five, but 39 judicial days after receiving the affidavit from the probation officer. The trial court found that under Welfare and Institutions Code section 653.5(d), this petition was untimely and dismissed it. The State appealed. The Court of Appeal reversed: the five-day time limit of section 653.5 (d) was directory, rather than mandatory; this means that a petition filed in violation of the five-day time limit was nevertheless valid. View "In re D.P." on Justia Law