Darden, Senior J.
D.M. appeals the juvenile court’s disposition of his case following a determination that he is a juvenile delinquent. We affirm.
D.M. raises one issue, which we restate as: whether the juvenile court committed fundamental error by its failure to specifically ask D.M. whether he wanted to address the court to make a statement in allocution at the dispositional hearing.
On October 19, 2017, the State submitted to the juvenile court a petition alleging that seventeen-year-old D.M. was a delinquent child for committing an act that, if committed by an adult, would have amounted to battery by bodily waste, a Level 6 felony. The State alleged that D.M. threw a cup of urine at an employee of the juvenile facility where he was being detained. The juvenile court found probable cause to support the State’s petition and approved it for filing.
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The juvenile court then held a dispositional hearing on November 3, 2017. Both the State and the probation department recommended to the juvenile court that wardship of D.M. be granted to the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC). By contrast, D.M., through his attorney, asked that D.M. be released to probation as the least restrictive and most safe environment, and to remain with his family. D.M.’s attorney further submitted a proposed community supervision plan and argued for the juvenile court’s approval.
At that point, D.M.’s attorney stated, “I’ll defer to any comments today your Honor for – that [D.M.] or his family may have.” The juvenile court specifically asked D.M.’s mother if she wanted to make a statement, and she declined. The juvenile court did not specifically ask D.M. if he wanted to make a statement. Rather, the juvenile court then announced its disposition, granting wardship of D.M. to the DOC for a period of time up to his twenty-first birthday, unless released earlier by the DOC. …
D.M. argues that the juvenile court deprived him of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to specifically ask him if he wanted to address the court prior to announcing its disposition of the case. D.M. concedes that he failed to raise this issue in the juvenile court and is entitled to reversal only if he demonstrates that the court’s omission amounted to fundamental error.
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In criminal cases involving adults, a defendant’s right to offer a statement on his or her behalf before the trial court pronounces sentence is known as the right of allocution, which has been recognized in the common law since at least 1682. Vicory v. State, 802 N.E.2d 426, 428 (Ind. 2004). As a general rule, “[t]he standard for determining what due process requires in a particular juvenile proceeding is ‘fundamental fairness.’” D.A. v. State, 967 N.E.2d 59, 64 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (quoting S.L.B. v. State, 434 N.E.2d 155, 156 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982)).
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We find it to be indisputable that the better practice in this case would have been for the juvenile court to have specifically asked D.M. if he wanted to make a statement before pronouncing disposition of the case. It would not have taken more than a few minutes and would have ensured that the court directly heard one of the most important perspectives—that of the juvenile. … However, our analysis does not end here. We must look at the totality of the facts and circumstances in this case in determining whether the trial court denied D.M. fundamental fairness herein.
After reviewing the arguments and recommendations of both parties, and taking into consideration the totality of the facts and circumstances herein, we cannot conclude that the juvenile court’s failure to specifically ask D.M. if he wanted to make a statement prior to disposition amounted to fundamental unfairness requiring reversal. During the dispositional hearing, it appears that D.M.’s attorney vigorously argued in favor of placing D.M. on probation and submitted a plan for the juvenile court’s review. … It does not appear that D.M. was substantially harmed by not being given an opportunity to personally address the court at the hearing. …
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We conclude that under the particular facts and circumstances of this case, the juvenile court’s failure to specifically ask D.M. if he wanted to make a statement was not a blatant violation of basic principles, did not pose a potential of substantial harm, and did not deprive D.M. of fundamental due process. We thus decline to apply the doctrine of fundamental error and/or fundamental fairness in considering D.M.’s due process claim. On the other hand, we strongly encourage juvenile courts to take into consideration affording juvenile delinquents the opportunity to address the court before final disposition.
For the reasons stated above, we affirm the judgment of the juvenile court.
Affirmed.
Pyle, J., and Altice, J., concur.