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Lawrence Newman, DWI Lawyer
504 N. Aurora Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

       Phone: (607)229-5184 or
                   (607)319-4067
       Fax:     (866)381-3122
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WHAT IS A YOUTHFUL OFFENDER ADJUDICATION?

Under New York State law, individuals who are at least sixteen years old but less than nineteen years old who are charged with a crime (misdemeanor or felony) may be eligible for a "youthful offender adjudication." Section 720.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law sets forth the circumstances under which a court may make a finding that a individual is a youthful offender. For purposes of misdemeanor convictions, such as first time DWI offenders, CPL § 720.20 states:

Upon conviction of an eligible youth, the court must order a PSI (pre-sentence investigation) of the defendant. After receipt of a written report of the investigation (by the probation department) and at the time of pronouncing sentence the court must determine whether or not the eligible youth is a youthful offender. Such determination shall be in accordance with the following criteria:

Where the conviction is had in a local criminal court and the eligible youth had not prior to commencement of trial or entry of a plea of guilty been convicted of a crime or found a youthful offender, the court must find he is a youthful offender.

CPL § 720.20(d) provides that when an individual is found to be a youthful offender, " the court must direct that the conviction be deemed vacated and replaced by a youthful offender finding; and the court must sentence the defendant pursuant to section 60.02 of the penal law."

Section 60.02(1) of the Penal Law limits the maximum sentence that may be imposed upon an individual adjudicated a youthful offender who otherwise would have been convicted of a misdemeanor to "a definite or intermittent sentence of imprisonment with a term of no more than six months...."

The requirement that eligible youth with no prior criminal convictions or youthful offender adjudications must receive youthful offender status when convicted of a misdemeanor poses an interesting dilemma when such youth are arrested for misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated. Based on the specific circumstances surrounding the arrest, many of these youth are eligible to enter a plea of guilty to the lesser offense of Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol (VTL § 1192[1]), which is a traffic infraction, not a misdemeanor.

Please note that youthful offender status only applies to criminal convictions, not to traffic infractions. As a result, it may be advisable in some cases to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge and receive youthful offender status rather than entering a plea to the lesser charge of Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol (VTL § 1192[1]). A person under 19 years of age should discuss this with his attorney. There are advantages and disadvantages of receiving youthful offender status versus pleading guilty to DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol).



Under 21 DWI and DWAI
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