What's happening
This bill allows certain adolescent offender cases to be moved from criminal court to family court for possible adjustment and fact-finding.
Why it matters
Expands opportunities for adolescent offenders to have their cases handled in family court. , which generally emphasizes rehabilitation and may provide access to social services, counseling, and diversion programs rather than focusing solely on punishment.
Allows for possible adjustment (informal resolution) of certain cases before formal family court proceedings begin. , potentially reducing the number of young people who receive lasting criminal records and helping prevent future entanglement with the justice system.
Clarifies court procedures and eligibility for removal to family court. , specifying when adolescent offenders must be directed to probation intake for adjustment consideration and under what circumstances cases can be moved from criminal to family court, which could result in more consistent and equitable treatment across cases.
May help reduce the negative lifelong consequences of criminal convictions for adolescents. by replacing guilty pleas to misdemeanors with fact-finding orders in family court, reflecting a shift toward treating young offenders in a manner more appropriate to their developmental stage.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Move Teen Cases to Family Court
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1628
- Referred to rules
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6402
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 7, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to pleas of guilty and removal of adolescent offender proceedings to the family court
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 30.00 of the penal law, as amended by section 38 of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
(ii) results from reduction or dismissal in satisfaction of a charge for a felony offense, in accordance with a plea of guilty pursuant to subdivision four of section 220.10 of the criminal procedure law, unless the proceeding is removed to the family court pursuant to paragraph (g-1) of subdivision five of section 220.10 of the criminal procedure law; or
§ 2. Subdivision 5 of section 220.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new paragraph (g-1) to read as follows:
(g-1) Where a defendant is an adolescent offender, the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this subdivision shall not apply. Where the plea is to an offense constituting a misdemeanor, the plea shall be deemed replaced by an order of fact-finding in a juvenile delinquency proceeding, pursuant to section 346.1 of the family court act, and the action shall be removed to the family court in accordance with article seven hundred twenty-five of this chapter. Where the plea is to an offense constituting a felony, the court may remove the action to the family court in accordance with section 722.23 and article seven hundred twenty-five of this chapter.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09838-01-9
S. 6402 2
§ 3. Subdivision 7 of section 725.05 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 223 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
7. Whether or not a securing order has been made, the order of removal must specify a date certain within ten days from the date of the order of removal for the defendant's appearance in the family court and where the defendant is in detention or in the custody of the sheriff that date must be not later than the next day the family court is in session. Unless the defendant is in detention or is in the custody of the sheriff or unless the order of removal specifies a juvenile or adolescent offense for which the defendant is not eligible for consideration for adjustment under subdivision thirteen of section 308.1 of the family court act, the order of removal shall direct the defendant to appear at the family court intake office of the county department of probation for adjustment consideration; provided, however, that pursuant to subdivision three of section 308.1 of the family court act, the fact that the defendant is in detention or is in the custody of the sheriff shall not preclude the probation service from adjusting the case if the defendant is otherwise eligible for adjustment.
§ 4. Subdivision 1 of section 725.10 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
1. [When] Unless the defendant is an adolescent offender who has been directed to appear at the family court intake office of the county department of probation for adjustment consideration in accordance with subdivision seven of section 725.05 of this article, when an order of removal is filed with the family court, a proceeding pursuant to article three of the family court act must be originated. The family court thereupon must assume jurisdiction and proceed to render such judgment as the circumstances require, in the manner and to the extent provided by law.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law and the criminal proce- dure law, in relation to pleas of guilty and removal of adolescent offender proceedings to the family court
This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee.
Enactment in New York State of the "raise the age" statute ("RTA") has resulted in a long-sought transformation of the treatment of older adolescents in the justice system. See L. 2017, c.59, part www. Its provisions for removing cases from the Youth Parts of superior courts to Family Court provide an essential safety valve for 16-year olds (and, starting October 1, 2019, 17-year olds), who are charged with felonies as adolescent offenders in the adult criminal justice system but who would more appropriately be afforded the opportunity either for diver- sion (adjustment) without prosecution or for treatment as juvenile delinquents. However, two aspects of the removal provisions have caused confusion as the first phase of implementation of the statute has been underway. This measure would address these problems.
Read the full memo (941 words)
First, pleas of guilty in adolescent offender cases to reduced charges constituting misdemeanors are deemed to be an exception to the infancy defense and no explicit authority exists for these cases to be removed to Family Court, notwithstanding the fact that all other misdemeanor cases are treated as juvenile delinquency matters. See Penal Law § 30.00(3)(d)(ii). In contrast, verdicts for charges for which youth are not criminally responsible in both adolescent and juvenile offender cases must be removed to Family Court and pleas in juvenile offender cases to such crimes may be subject to removal upon recommendation of the district attorney. See CPL §§ 220.10 ((5)(g)(iii), 310.85(3), 330.25. No justification exists for precluding removal solely for pleas in adolescent offender cases and for automatically deeming such youth to be criminally responsible.
This measure amends the infancy provision of the Penal Law to clarify that an adolescent offender is criminally responsible for pleas to reduced charges unless the matter is removed to Family Court. See Penal Law § 30.00(3)(d)(ii). Additionally, the measure adds a new paragraph (g-1) to Criminal Procedure Law § 220.10(5) to require that a plea by an adolescent offender to a charge constituting a misdemeanor must be replaced by an order of fact-finding of juvenile delinquency and must be removed to the Family Court for disposition. Where the plea is to a felony, e.g., a felony for which different criteria for removal are applicable as compared to the original charge, the matter may be consid- ered for removal to Family Court in accordance with section 722.23 and Article 725 of the Criminal Procedure Law.
Second, there has been considerable confusion over the apparent contra- diction between the eligibility of adolescent offenders whose cases have been removed to Family Court for consideration for adjustment, and the mandates in sections 725.05 and 725.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law for such youth to appear before the Family Court within ten days, and for a Family Court juvenile delinquency proceeding to be commenced. Although the RTA provides that "notwithstanding any other provision of law," eligible offenders are entitled to be considered for their suitability for adjustment services after removal from a Youth Part (see CPL §§ 722.21(4); 722.23(1)(g)), there is no corresponding amendment recogniz- ing this entitlement in the removal provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law that are cross-referenced in sections 722.21(2)(b) and 722.23(1)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Law. Cf., CPL §§ 725.05(7), 725.10(1).
In order to effectuate the clear legislative intent of the RTA, this measure makes technical, clarifying amendments to both sections 725.05 and 725.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law. The measure reconciles the various provisions by clarifying that, in removing an adolescent offen- der case to the Family Court, where the offender is statutorily eligible for consideration for adjustment, the Youth Part judge should direct the youth to the intake office of the local probation department for an assessment of adjustment suitability without an appearance in Family Court and without an actual Family Court juvenile delinquency case being commenced. Youth who are in detention or in a sheriff's custody would be required to appear before a Family Court judge "not later than the next day the court is in session," but would nonetheless be brought to probation for adjustment consideration if statutorily eligible. The measure leaves in tact, however, the provision requiring youths - including, among others, juvenile offenders, who are ineligible for adjustment - to appear in Family Court within ten days of removal. Like- wise, it retains the requirement for a detained youth to appear in Fami- ly Court not later than the next day such court is in session, while nonetheless underscoring that the fact that a juvenile is in detention "shall not preclude the probation service from adjusting the case if the
JUVENILE is otherwise eligible for adjustment." Nor does it affect the need for a Family Court appearance by a juvenile, against whom a tempo- rary, pre-petition order of protection has been issued pursuant to Fami- ly Court Act § 304.2(1).
Other than in a detention or temporary order of protection case, there- fore, this measure will obviate the need for an appearance by the juve- nile in Family Court unless and until it is necessary on the ground that the juvenile's case has not been adjusted successfully and the present- ment agency has elected to go forward with a juvenile delinquency proceeding.
This measure, which would have no meaningful fiscal impact, would take effect immediately.
Legislative history
None. New Proposal.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.