In re Stephens

98 Misc. 2d 137, 413 N.Y.S.2d 591, 1979 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2054
CourtNew York City Family Court
DecidedFebruary 9, 1979
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 98 Misc. 2d 137 (In re Stephens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York City Family Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Stephens, 98 Misc. 2d 137, 413 N.Y.S.2d 591, 1979 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2054 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1979).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Anthony K. Pomilio, J.

The above-entitled, petitions were filed on the same day, October 30, 1978, by Sergeant Otto J. Panara, Juvenile Aid Division, Rome Police Department, charging the respondent with having committed certain acts which if committed by an adult would constitute crimes. All three petitions allege that the respondent committed an act, which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crime of burglary in the second degree as defined in section 140.25 (subd 1, par [a]) of the Penal Law as well as other crimes. All of the alleged acts occurred on the same day, October 11, 1978. On the return date for these petitions, November 14, 1978, the Law Guardian for the respondent moved to dismiss the petitions in the interest of justice. The matters were adjourned to December 1, 1978, at which time there was argument of the motion to dismiss. The court reserved its decision.

The respondent in the above petitions was previously petitioned into this court on October 13, 1978, in another juvenile delinquency petition, Docket No. D-30-78 (R). On October 20, 1978, this court, based on respondent’s admission, made a finding that the respondent was a juvenile delinquent in that she had committed an act, which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crime of burglary in the second degree as defined in subdivision 2 of section 140.25 of the Penal Law. The same respondent was also petitioned into court as a person in need of supervision (Docket No. S-49-78 [R]) and the court found her to be a person in need of supervision at a hearing on October 31, 1978.

The Law Guardian points out that all of the acts in the above petitions occurred October 11, 1978, prior to the time of the admission of the juvenile delinquency charge in D-30-78 (R). He contends that had the respondent been aware that these petitions would have been filed, that the admission might not have occurred on October 20, 1978. The Law Guardian further contends that, basically, all of the above three petitions involve the same type of crime which the respondent had already admitted on October 20, 1978, and that no useful purpose would be served by pursuing the above three petitions [139]*139in view of the fact that the respondent has not been involved in further difficulty, and that she has been co-operative during the adjourned period for investigation and disposition of the two petitions in which the charge was admitted. The Law Guardian further argued that respondent’s rights have been jeopardized since an admission or a finding of felony in any of the above three petitions, added to the finding already made in D-30-78 (R), might require that she be charged with a designated felony under the amendment of the statute relating to designated felonies enacted in 1978. (L 1978, ch 478.) That statute provided that where there are two previous findings of delinquency based on a felony, a new petition alleging an act which, if committed by an adult would be a felony, must be petitioned as a designated felony, regardless of the age of the respondent and regardless of the fact that the act which is the subject of the new petition is not in and of itself a designated felony. Finally, it is the argument of the Law Guardian that no useful purpose would be served by a finding in these three petitions as the court’s ultimate disposition would be the same probably as the disposition to be made in the previous petitions.

Corporation Counsel opposed the granting of the motion on the basis that petitions were filed as timely as possible, that the respondent’s rights have not been jeopardized, that there was no understanding with the respondent that the admission of one petition would preclude further petitions, and the fact that she has not been in any further difficulty would not affect the filing of new petitions.

Subsequently, and on January 9, 1979, on the basis of adjudication of juvenile delinquency in D-30-78 (R), respondent was placed with the Oneida County Department of Social Services with the recommendation that she be placed in a residential facility for a period not to exceed 18 months. The petition in Docket No. S-49-78 (R) was dismissed in view of the disposition made in the delinquency matter.

The issues before the court are as follows: (1) Is the Family Court authorized to dismiss a juvenile delinquency petition in the furtherance of justice? (2) If so, would such a disposition be proper in the instance?

The Family Court Act contains no provision specifically authorizing a Family Court Judge to dismiss a juvenile delinquency petition in the furtherance of justice. It should also be noted that the act contains no provision precluding such a [140]*140dismissal. An examination of the case law indicates that this question has never been the subject of a written decision. It is our ruling that the absence of such a provision does not preclude Family Court from dismissing a juvenile delinquency petition in the interest of justice.

The matter of dismissal of a juvenile delinquency petition in the interest of justice has been the subject of a study by the Legislature. The Temporary State Commission on Child Welfare in June, 1978 completed the drafting of a proposed Juvenile Delinquent Procedural and Evidentiary Code. This proposed statute contains a provision authorizing such a dismissal by a Family Court Judge. The draftsmen of that proposal, in commenting on the omission of such a provision in the present law, stated (p 47) that the absence of such an omission is a rather odd omission, given the extremely wide discretion of the Family Court.

We also note that under the CPL any misdemeanor charge or any felony charge may be dismissed in the furtherance of justice (CPL 170.40, 210.40). These two sections together authorize a criminal court to discharge any criminal charge at all in the furtherance of justice, even a homicide charge.

Matter of Winship (397 US 358) and Matter of Gault (387 US 1), decisions of the United States Supreme Court in recent years, have held that juveniles must be afforded all the same rights and protections as are afforded an adult offender in a criminal proceeding. The major exception is the right to a trial by jury, which the Supreme Court did not regard as an essential part of the due process to be afforded a juvenile (McKeiver v Pennsylvania, 403 US 528).

It would follow that since a respondent in a juvenile delinquency proceeding must be afforded virtually the same basic rights as an adult criminal defendant and since the Family Court, in the absence of any contrary provision by statute or case law has broad discretion, we hold that Family Court Judge is authorized under the present law to dismiss a juvenile delinquency petition in the furtherance of justice. We would hold further that the same standards applicable under the afore-mentioned provisions of the CPL should be followed.

We now turn to the question of whether such a disposition would be proper in these cases. CPL 170.40 and 210.40 read substantially the same and provide in pertinent part: "[The Accusatory Instrument] may be dismissed in furtherance of justice * * * when, even though there may be no basis [141]*141for a dismissal as a matter of law * * * such dismissal is required as a matter of judicial discretion by the existence of some compelling factor, consideration or circumstance clearly demonstrating that conviction or prosecution of the defendant upon such [accusatory instrument] would constitute or result in a injustice.” (CPL 210.40, subd 1.)

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Related

People v. Eubanks
108 Misc. 2d 108 (Criminal Court of the City of New York, 1981)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
98 Misc. 2d 137, 413 N.Y.S.2d 591, 1979 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2054, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-stephens-nycfamct-1979.