Request By:
Mr. Anthony Ambrose
Assistant Jefferson County Attorney
Twenty Seventh Floor
Citizens Plaza
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Robert L. Chenoweth, Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Chief Counsel
As a juvenile prosecutor in the Jefferson District Court, you have asked the Office of the Attorney General for a formal opinion regarding the following question:
Can a juvenile be charged under KRS 530.070 - Unlawful Transaction with a minor?
It is the conclusion of this office the answer to your question must be in the affirmative, although the handling of a juvenile charged with this offense will, at best, be awkward.
KRS 530.070 reads as follows:
"(1) A person is guilty of unlawful transaction with a minor when:
"(a) Acting other than as a retail licensee, he knowingly sells, gives, purchases or procures any alcoholic or malt beverage in any form to or for a minor. The defendant may prove in exculpation that the sale was induced by the use of false, fraudulent, or altered identification papers or other documents and that the appearance and character of the purchaser were such that his age could not have been ascertained by any other means and that the purchaser's appearance and character indicated strongly that he was of legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages. This subsection does not apply to a parent or guardian of the minor; or
"(b) He knowingly induces, assists, or causes a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity except those offenses involving minors in KRS Chapter 531 and KRS 529. 040(1)(b), illegal controlled substances activity, illegal gambling activity or any other criminal activity; or
"(c) He knowingly induces, assists or causes a minor to become a habitual truant; or
"(d) He persistently and knowingly induces, assists or causes a minor to disobey his parent or guardian.
"(2) Unlawful transaction with a minor is a Class A misdemeanor. "
This section of the Kentucky Penal Code is intended to forbid certain specific transactions with a minor. Beyond peradventure, a minor is fully capable of committing an unlawful transaction as detailed in KRS 530.070 with another minor. A minor for purposes of this section is defined at KRS 500.080(9) which reads:
"As used in the Kentucky Penal Code, unless the context otherwise requires:
* * * *
"(9) 'Minor' means any person who has not reached the age of majority as defined in KRS 2.015."
Also, c.f. the definition of "child" at KRS 208.010(2). The juvenile session of the district court has exclusive jurisdiction of persons charged with a violation of KRS 530.070. See KRS 208.020(3). Additionally, pursuant to KRS 208.020(6), any person charged with a violation of KRS 530.070 is entitled to a trial by jury. This is where the application of the law to a juvenile must first be specially addressed. As a normal course of events, a jury trial is not a constitutionally guaranteed right in juvenile proceedings. See
Dryden v. Commonwealth, 435 S.W.2d 457 (1968). However, the General Assembly has mandated that for individuals charged with unlawful transaction with a minor, KRS 530.070, the individual is entitled to a jury trial. Even though confidentiality of proceedings against a juvenile is the rule when the matter is to be adjudicated under the provisions of KRS 208.060, if a juvenile charged with violating KRS 530.070 would desire a trial by jury, KRS 208.020(6) mandates that a trial by jury be provided.
Another application problem is to be encountered at the dispositional stage of the proceedings. Violation of KRS 530.070 is a Class A misdemeanor. However, it is our position that a juvenile adjudicated beyond a reasonable doubt of having committed an unlawful transaction with a minor must be dealt with by the juvenvile court under KRS 208.200, which may include subsections (4), (5) and (6) if the child adjudicated of violating KRS 530.070 is sixteen years of age or older.
As indicated above, we believe a minor may be charged with unlawful transaction with another minor under KRS 530.070. The procedure for handling such a situation would admittedly not be too orthodox as juvenile proceedings usually go. Nevertheless, we can distill no intent of the General Assembly to preclude proceedings against a juvenile who is believed to have committed the public offense of unlawful transaction with a minor as proscribed by KRS 530.070.
We trust the above will be of assistance to you as a prosecutor in the Jefferson District Court. If we may be of further assistance, please contact us.