In re Jazmin A.

939 N.E.2d 1202, 15 N.Y.3d 439
CourtNew York Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 17, 2010
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 939 N.E.2d 1202 (In re Jazmin A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Jazmin A., 939 N.E.2d 1202, 15 N.Y.3d 439 (N.Y. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Read, J.

On February 18, 2008, 14-year-old Jazmín A. returned home after a four-day absence, whereupon she promptly announced that she was leaving again. When her mother objected and attempted to block the door, Jazmín grabbed a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade, and threatened that “[n]o one is going to touch me.” As Jazmín tried to fight her way past her mother, her stepfather intervened. Before he succeeded in wresting the knife away from her, though, Jazmín grazed his shoulder with the blade; she also bit her stepfather’s arm and chest, causing him to bleed. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where his bite wounds were treated.

On February 25, 2008, the presentment agency filed a petition asserting that Jazmin’s acts, described above as recounted in her stepfather’s supporting affidavit, would, if committed by an adult, constitute various assault and weapons and menacing offenses. On February 29, 2008, Family Court adjudicated Jazmín delinquent upon her admission that she committed an act constituting unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under the age of 16, in violation of Penal Law § 265.05.

[442]*442During the dispositional hearing on March 26, 2008, the judge asked Jazmin’s mother whether she was willing for Jazmín to remain in her home. The mother answered that she was so long as Jazmín attended school and did not “stay or sleep out of the house.”

The following colloquy ensued between the judge and Jazmín:

“the court: Jazmín, do you understand that if I put you on probation, I’m going to keep a very tight [rein] on this case?
“[jazmín]: I understand that, ma’am.
“the court: I’m going to have you come in to court for reports. If I get a report that you are not cooperating with the probation, that you’re not keeping your curfew, that you are staying out overnight, or that you’re not going to school, you’re going to quickly find yourself in detention and on your way to a placement [upstate]. Do you understand that?
“[jazmín]: Yes, I understand that, ma’am.”

Family Court placed Jazmín in the Bronx Juvenile Accountability Court (JAC) program for a 12-month period of probation. While in existence, JAC matched troubled youths with an array of supportive services, such as counseling, tutoring and drug treatment, as an alternative to residential placement. Unlike regular probation, JAC participants appeared regularly in Family Court for the judge to check on their progress. The order and conditions of probation imposed by Family Court required that Jazmín report to and cooperate with her probation officer; obey the lawful commands of her parents; observe curfew; attend school regularly; submit to drug and alcohol testing; and comply with the recommendations of a mental health assessment.

Jazmín arrived late to Family Court on April 16, 2008 for her first monitoring hearing. The Department of Probation’s report was not favorable. Of the 13 school days since her probation began, Jazmín missed eight and was late twice. According to her mother, Jazmín “stay[ed] out all night without permission and [might] come home once or twice a week.” At the conclusion of the hearing, Family Court remanded Jazmín to the custody of the Commissioner of Juvenile Justice because she “was choosing not to comply with the conditions of her [443]*443probation.” Jazmín’s law guardian objected to the remand on the ground that the Department of Probation had not filed a violation of probation (VOP) petition. The judge scheduled another hearing to be held nine days later, on April 25, 2008, “for probation to take whatever further steps they believe [d] [to be] appropriate.” Jazmín appealed.

On May 19, 2009, the Appellate Division unanimously reversed and vacated Family Court’s April 16, 2008 order of detention. The court held that “[hjaving issued an order of disposition placing [Jazmin] on probation, the Family Court lacked authority to remand her to detention in the absence of a violation of probation petition” (62 AD3d 526, 527 [1st Dept 2009]). By the time the Appellate Division handed down its decision, the Department of Probation had long since pursued a VOP petition, resulting in a new order of disposition on June 6, 2008, which placed Jazmin on 12 months of probation under the auspices of the Administration for Children’s Services’ Juvenile Justice Initiative, another community-based alternative to residential placement. The court noted that it nonetheless decided Jazmin’s appeal because, although moot, the issue presented was “substantial and novel” and “likely to recur and evade review” (id.)

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Matter of J.D.
2025 NY Slip Op 06807 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2025)
In re Tilar M.
41 Misc. 3d 633 (NYC Family Court, 2013)
In re Kareem W.
100 A.D.3d 565 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2012)
In re Rayshawn P.
103 A.D.3d 31 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
939 N.E.2d 1202, 15 N.Y.3d 439, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jazmin-a-ny-2010.