ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CODES
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
NEW YORK STATE BLACK, PUERTO RICAN, HISPANIC, AND ASIAN LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

New York is one of only two states (New York and North Carolina) to mandate that all youth aged sixteen and seventeen, charged with any offense, be prosecuted and sentenced in adult criminal court. Many states have considered this issue anew in light of new evidence on child development and cognitive thinking (including North Carolina), but New York's age of adult criminal responsibility remains unchanged. While New York does have a "Youthful Offender" statute which may allow for sentence consideration and sealed records for youth in certain circumstances, there are significant and sometimes life-long consequences for a youth that may follow from arrest, adult court proceedings and a conviction or youthful offender adjudication.

This hearing will examine the age of adult criminal responsibility in New York and identify the effects of treating individuals as young as sixteen as adults in the criminal justice system. It will examine policies that could be improved to more effectively rehabilitate young offenders while also holding them accountable as delinquents. This hearing will also examine the experiences of other states that have recently amended their laws governing the age of adult criminal responsibility and how New York may learn from those experiences.

Please see the reverse side for a list of subjects to which participants may direct their comments.

Persons wishing to participate at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation. In order to further publicize this hearing, please inform interested parties and organizations of this upcoming hearing discussion.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

1. What have scientific advances taught us about brain development in young persons and their ability to make fully informed choices?

2. What are the short-term and long-term effects on sixteen and seventeen year olds who encounter the criminal justice system?

3. What rehabilitation programs are available for youth less than sixteen years of age who enter the juvenile justice system?

4. What is the cost of a case in the criminal justice system vs. the cost of a case in the juvenile justice system? And is there an overall cost benefit to raising the age of criminal responsibility from sixteen to eighteen?

5. What measures have other states taken with regard to the age of adult criminal responsibility? What have those states experienced with regard to rehabilitation, recidivism and costs?

6. Are there specialty courts and other programs currently available in the state that apply a treatment or rehabilitative model to sixteen and seventeen year olds in the criminal justice system? If so, what have been their experiences?

7. Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph R. Lentol and Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, among others, have proposed legislation to address the appropriate age for adult criminal responsibility. See A. 3668 and A. 7553-A (respectively). Please comment on either or both of these bills.

8. What type of resources or resource reallocation would be necessary in order to effectuate proposed reforms?

I plan to attend the public hearing on the Examination of the Laws Governing the Age of Adult Criminal Responsibility in New York to be conducted by the Assembly Committees on Codes; Judiciary; Children and Families, Education; and the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus on December 6, 2013.

I plan to participate and make a public statement at the hearing.

I will address my remarks to the following subjects:

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I do not plan to attend the above hearing.

I would like to be added to the Codes Committee mailing list for notices and reports.

I would like to be removed from the Codes Committee mailing list.

I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information. Please specify the type of assistance required:

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