## Facts

- The State filed a delinquency petition against J.K., a 15-year-old student, alleging he possessed multiple tablets of LSD at school and gave one to a classmate who required emergency medical treatment.
- The petition also described J.K.’s later violent behavior at school, refusal to identify the LSD supplier, and failure to cooperate with a psychological evaluation.
- At the delinquency hearing, J.K. admitted the petition’s allegations.
- The juvenile court adjudged J.K. delinquent and transferred legal custody to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Corrections, designating the Wisconsin School for Boys as the reception center.
- The commitment was indeterminate but could not extend beyond J.K.’s eighteenth birthday.
- J.K. argued the disposition was effectively more severe than the maximum adult penalty for LSD possession at the time (up to one year imprisonment and/or a $250 fine).

## Issues

1. Whether a juvenile court disposition committing a delinquent child to state custody until age 18 is unlawful or unconstitutional because it may exceed the maximum adult criminal penalty for the same conduct.
2. Whether the juvenile court properly applied the Wisconsin Children’s Code, including the “best interests of the child” standard and the dispositional alternatives authorized by statute, when selecting institutional placement.

## Decision

- The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court and upheld the juvenile court’s disposition.
- The court held the juvenile judge properly exercised discretion under the Children’s Code in committing J.K. to state custody with institutional placement.
- The court rejected the argument that a juvenile disposition is invalid merely because its potential duration exceeds the adult maximum sentence for the underlying conduct.

## Legal Principles

- Juvenile delinquency proceedings are civil and rehabilitative in purpose; dispositions are not treated as criminal punishment for purposes of limiting the disposition to adult sentencing ranges.
- Under Wis. Stat. § 48.01, the child’s best interests are paramount, but the court must also consider the interests of the parents or guardian and the interests of the public.
- Under Wis. Stat. § 48.34, the juvenile court has discretion to select among enumerated dispositional alternatives, including transfer of legal custody to the state and placement in an appropriate institution, so long as the choice reflects reasoned consideration of available options.
- An indeterminate juvenile commitment up to age 18 is not unconstitutional per se when supported by rehabilitative objectives and a proper discretionary determination grounded in statutory standards.

## Conclusion

The court upheld J.K.’s indeterminate commitment to state custody until age 18, concluding that juvenile dispositions focus on rehabilitation and public protection under the Children’s Code and are not invalid simply because they may last longer than the maximum criminal sentence an adult could receive for comparable conduct.


J.K. v. State, 68 Wis. 2d 426, 228 N.W.2d 713 (Wis. 1975)