§ 749 — Adjournment after fact-finding hearing or during dispositional hearing

§ 749. Adjournment after fact-finding hearing or during dispositional\nhearing. (a) (i) Upon or after a fact-finding hearing, the court may,\nupon its own motion or upon a motion of a party to the proceeding, order\nthat the proceeding be "adjourned in contemplation of dismissal". An\nadjournment in contemplation of dismissal is an adjournment of the\nproceeding, for a period not to exceed six months with a view to\nultimate dismissal of the petition in furtherance of justice. Upon\nissuing such an order, upon such permissible terms and conditions as the\nrules of court shall define, the court must release the individual.\n (ii) The court may, as a condition of an adjournment in contemplation\nof dismissal order: (A) in cases where the record indicates that the\nconsumption of alcohol may have been a contributing factor, require the\nrespondent to attend and complete an alcohol awareness program\nestablished pursuant to section 19.25 of the mental hygiene law; or (B)\nin cases where the record indicates that cyberbullying or sexting was\nthe basis of the petition, require an eligible person to complete an\neducation reform program in accordance with section four hundred\nfifty-eight-l of the social services law.\n (iii) Upon application of the petitioner, or upon the court's own\nmotion, made at any time during the duration of the order, the court may\nrestore the matter to the calendar. If the proceeding is not so\nrestored, the petition is at the expiration of the order, deemed to have\nbeen dismissed by the court in furtherance of justice.\n (b) On its own motion, the court may adjourn the proceedings on\nconclusion of a fact-finding hearing or during a dispositional hearing\nto enable it to make inquiry into the surroundings, conditions and\ncapacities of the respondent. An adjournment on the court's motion may\nnot be for a period of more than ten days if the respondent is in\npre-dispositional placement, in which case not more than a total of two\nsuch adjournments may be granted in the absence of special\ncircumstances. If the respondent is not in pre-dispostional placement,\nan adjournment may be for a reasonable time, but the total number of\nadjourned days may not exceed two months.\n (c) On motion on behalf of the respondent or by his parent or other\nperson legally responsible for his care, the court may adjourn the\nproceedings on conclusion of a fact finding hearing or during a\ndispositional hearing for a reasonable period of time.\n