N.B. v. State

For shoplifting a pacifier, among other things, the trial court adjudicated N.B., a sixteen-year-old single mother, delinquent, and committed her to a low-risk residential facility. She appeals the final disposition order insofar as it placed her in the residential facility. The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) had recommended probation. Because the trial judge identified no valid basis for deviating from DJJ’s recommendation, we reverse.

Apprehended trying to steal clothing and a pacifier from Wal-Mart, N.B. pleaded guilty to a charge of petit theft. DJJ prepared a predisposition report1…