NCJ Number
89470
Journal
New York Law School Law Review Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: (1981) Pages: 677-722
Date Published
1981
Length
46 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes the historical development of juvenile delinquency legislation in New York and compares present State laws to provisions in other States. It then evaluates implementation of the New York Juvenile Offender Act of 1978 through the criminal and juvenile justice systems and recommends amendments to the act.
Abstract
The act constitutes the most radical change in New York's delinquency laws since the establishment of the Children's Court in 1922, or perhaps the 1909 abolition of criminal penalties. For the first time in 70 years, a child may be criminally prosecuted and incarcerated in adult penal institutions for offenses committed prior to attaining the age of 16 years. By severely limiting court discretion to sentence or place children in nonpenal programs, the act imposes a harsher remedy for some cases than statutes in effect from 1824-1909. New York stands alone among the States in lowering the age of criminal responsibility to age 13 or 14 years. Moreover, the act reverses practices found in every other State of initiating delinquency cases only in the juvenile courts, subject in many jurisdictions to criminal court transfer. The fact that only 12 percent of all juvenile offender cases reach the conviction stage in adult court, and half of those are removed to family court for sentencing is, in itself, a cogent reason to reassess the act. The inefficiency of successive proceedings in different courts and the possible prejudice to accused children mitigates in favor of alternative filing or screening mechanisms. Specific recommendations are cited. Footnotes are provided.