DYKER HEIGHTS — Juvenile delinquency — the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor — was in focus at the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association’s most recent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) get-together at Mama Rao’s restaurant on the evening of March 26.
“Demystifying Juvenile Delinquency: Understanding the Youth Part and Family Court Practice” was presented by Hon. Betsey Jean-Jacques, acting Family Court judge, New York County, and Kemar Hermitt, Esq., principal law clerk to Hon. Craig Walker, Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term.
The “Youth Part” refers to a specialized part of the court system in New York, established by the “Raise the Age” law, that handles cases involving youth aged 16 and 17 who are charged with felonies and certain serious felonies committed by those aged 13 to 15. The law took effect in New York State in 2018 and prohibits automatically charging 16-year-olds as adults and holding 16 and 17-year-olds in adult jails and prisons.
Cases in Youth Part can also be transferred to Family Court, where they are treated as juvenile delinquency cases. Typically, these are non-violent felony offenses.
Navigating Youth Part and Family Court
“Tonight we will be discussing how a case navigates both the Youth Part and Family Courts — and to demystify what that process is,” Hermitt told the Brooklyn Eagle, noting that Raise the Age legislation reorganized how that process takes place. “We’d also like to encourage practitioners to take cases in the Youth Part, or to follow cases to Family Court,” he added.
Both Jean-Jacques and Hermitt began their presentation with a brief history of juvenile justice in New York State, going back to the 1820s when New York first recognized the difference between adults and children in the criminal justice system. They then moved on to the 1920s, when the first Family Court was created with the passage of the Children’s Court Act of New York City.
In the 1960s, Family Courts were given exclusive jurisdiction over all cases where the defendant was 7 to 15 years old, and one decade later, in the 1970s, specifically 1978, when the “Juvenile Offender Law” was passed.
Incidentally, that law would allow juveniles aged 13 to 15 charged with certain serious felonies to be prosecuted in adult criminal court, facing penalties similar to those imposed on adults.
The CLE also addressed “adolescent decision making,” pointing out that the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until approximately 25 years of age.
In addition, various Supreme Court cases were highlighted, such as Roper v. Simmons, barring capital punishment for juveniles under 18, and Graham v. Florida, whereby you cannot sentence a juvenile to life without parole for non-homicide offenses.
Jean-Jacques told the Eagle that she hoped that by the end of the CLE, “People will get a little bit more understanding of the practice that goes into both the Youth Part and Family Court juvenile delinquency — and they will come to appreciate it.”
