What's happening
This bill raises the maximum age for youthful offender status from under 19 to under 21 years old in New York.
Why it matters
Expanding youthful offender status to those under 21 could allow more young adults to avoid permanent criminal records. , potentially reducing long-term negative impacts on employment, housing, and education.
The change reflects evolving research on adolescent brain development. , acknowledging that decision-making and impulse control continue to mature into the early 20s, which may justify more lenient treatment of offenders in this age group.
Mandatory youthful offender status for those under 19, with court discretion for those 19 and 20, creates a tiered system. , potentially offering a second chance to more young people while still allowing judicial oversight for older individuals.
This reform could have broader implications for racial and socioeconomic equity. , as younger adults from marginalized groups are often disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system and could benefit from increased access to youthful offender protections.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Raise Youth Offender Age
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 38
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
520
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to youthful offenders
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 720.10 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:
1. "Youth" means a person charged with a crime alleged to have been committed when he or she was at least sixteen years old and less than [nineteen] twenty-one years old or a person charged with being a juvenile offender as defined in subdivision forty-two of section 1.20 of this chapter.
§ 2. Subdivision 1 of section 720.20 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 652 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows:
1. Upon conviction of an eligible youth, the court must order a presentence investigation of the defendant. After receipt of a written report of the investigation and at the time of pronouncing sentence the court must determine whether or not the eligible youth is a youthful offender. Such determination shall be in accordance with the following criteria:
(a) If in the opinion of the court the interest of justice would be served by relieving the eligible youth from the onus of a criminal record and by not imposing an indeterminate term of imprisonment of more than four years, the court may, in its discretion, find the eligible youth is a youthful offender; and
(b) Where the conviction is had in a local criminal court and the eligible youth charged with a crime alleged to have been committed when
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06274-01-9
S. 520 2
he or she was at least sixteen years old and less than nineteen years old had not prior to commencement of trial or entry of a plea of guilty been convicted of a crime or found a youthful offender, the court must find he or she is a youthful offender.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to youthful offenders
Purpose
The bill will extend the age of a person who can be defined as a youth under the youthful offender section of the criminal procedure law.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends subdivision 1 of section 720.10 of the criminal proce- dure law to increase the maximum age of a youth from sixteen to twenty- one years of age.
Section 2. Amends subdivision 1 of section 720.20 of the criminal proce- dure law to add an age requirement to when a court must find the youth to be a youthful offender. Because section one increase the age require- ment to 21 years of age, this amendment specifies that a court must find a youth a youthful offender if he or she is at least sixteen years old and less than nineteen years of age.
Section 3. Effective date.
Existing law
Subdivision 1 of CPL section 720.10 currently defines youth to be a person at least sixteen years old and less than nineteen years old. Subdivision 1, paragraph b of CPL section 720.20 currently states that where the conviction is had in a local criminal court and the eligible youth had not, prior to commencement of trial or entry of a plea of guilty, been convicted of a crime or found a youthful offender, the court must find he or she is a youthful offender.
Justification
In September 2011, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman highlighted "glaring problems" with New York's criminal system. One of these issues was the age of criminal responsibility. In many states, the age of criminal responsibility is 18 years of age, while in others it is 17. An article by the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) highlighted the problem a criminal conviction has on the lives and futures of young New Yorkers.
One of the recommendations in the article was to expand the availability of youthful offender adjudication. This recommendation suggested that the availability of youthful offender adjudication should be expanded to include those as old as 20 or 21. The NYSACDL stated that this expansion would be consistent with practices in other jurisdictions.
Legislative history
2017-18: S1159/A1674 - CODES/codes 2015-16: S1742/A1729 - Codes/Codes 2013-14: S1983/A8267 - Codes Committee/Codes Committee 2012: S7763 - Codes Committee
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.