Senate Bill S7519

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7519

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to a motion to remove a juvenile offender to family court

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

The bill amends the criminal procedure law so that youth who are
charged with a crime may have their cases removed from Superior
Criminal Court to Family Court. The changes implemented in the bill
reflect evidence that the current system has not been effective in
deterring and preventing crime.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

The bill raises the age of criminal responsibility to age 20.  Allow
for a juvenile defendant to have his/her case removed from Superior
Criminal Court to Family Court.

 JUSTIFICATION :

New York is one of only two states (New York and North Carolina) to
mandate that all youth aged sixteen and seventeen, charged with any
offense, be prosecuted and sentenced in adult criminal court. While
many other states have reconsidered this issue in light of new
evidence on child development and cognitive thinking (including North
              

Carolina which has taken steps to begin the process of reform), New
York's very young age of adult responsibility has remained unchanged
for decades.  Additionally, youth as young as thirteen or fourteen in
some cases are tried in the adult criminal court system under New
York's "Juvenile Offender" law.

Several studies have shown that treating minors as adults in the
criminal justice system is often counter-productive in rehabilitating
the youth and ineffective in preventing future criminal acts. Research
has shown that children's brains do not fully develop until after the
age of eighteen, and youths who engage in criminal conduct often do
not have the same level of understanding of their actions as adults.

In 2005, the United States Supreme Court ruled that states may not
impose the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age
of eighteen, citing evidence that minors are less mentally culpable
for their actions than adults and further, that minors have a greater
chance of rehabilitation. Additionally, studies have shown that the
penalties and longer sentences often imposed by adult criminal courts
do not reduce the recidivism rate of youth who commit crimes, compared
to similarly situated youth who are adjudicated in a juvenile court
system. The services and alternative to detention programs available
in Family Court can help meet the specific needs of each youth,
including treatment for mental health and substance abuse, often at
lower cost.

There are significant and sometimes lifelong implications for young
people adjudicated in the criminal court system, which extend into the
areas of education and employment, including earning potential.  Only
about one-third of young adults returning from prison in New York
return to school, and studies have shown that those who do not have a
high school diploma are more likely to be unemployed and more likely
to be recipients of public assistance. Further, the ability to obtain
and keep employment can be difficult for those with criminal records.
Additionally, studies have shown that youth who were adjudicated in
the criminal court system see a much lower earning potential than
youth who were adjudicated in the juvenile court system. In addition
to potentially improving the lives and future of New York's troubled
youth, the state could also realize real cost savings in treating many
of those under the age of eighteen as juveniles as opposed to treating
all persons sixteen and older as adults. Many states that have shifted
younger persons out of criminal court and into the juvenile or family
court system have seen tremendous savings due in part to the lower
cost of community-based alternatives, as well as the reduced
recidivism rate of these youth. Of course, fewer victims in the future
also means a safer society, and less spending on victim services.

New York should adjust this aspect of its juvenile justice system to
reflect the better understanding we now have of youth accused of
crimes. We now know the potential that some of these youths have for
redemption and the possibility to become productive members of
society.

This bill preserves the jurisdiction of the adult courts to try
persons 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17 years old for "juvenile offender" crimes.
But for less serious crimes, and for "JO" crimes that can best be
handled in Family Court or in the newly created youth part, this bill
brings about a necessary reform.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.