ALTHOUGH ARTICLE 3 OF THE FAMILY COURT ACT PROHIBITS CONSIDERATION OF A NEW YORK JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ADJUDICATION IN A SORA RISK-LEVEL ASSESSEMENT, CONSIDERATION OF A NEW JERSEY JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ADJUDICATION IS NOT PROHIBITED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Brathwaite Nelson, determined that, although a New York juvenile delinquency adjudication under article 3 of the Family Court Act cannot be considered in a SORA risk-level determination, a New Jersey juvenile delinquency adjudication can be considered:
Although the express language in the Guidelines provides that a juvenile delinquency adjudication constitutes proof for the assessment of points under risk factors 8 and 9, in People v Campbell (98 AD3d 5), this Court held that a juvenile delinquency adjudication rendered under Family Court Act article 3 could not properly be considered in a SORA proceeding. * * *
… [T]his Court’s holding in Campbell does not preclude a SORA court from considering the defendant’s New Jersey adjudication. As discussed above, the prohibition in Campbell rested on the language of Family Court Act § 381.2 … . The Legislature, while protecting Family Court Act article 3 proceedings, has also identified the age of a sex offender at the time of the first sex offense to be a factor “indicative of high risk of repeat offense” to be considered under the Guidelines … , in addition to the nature of prior offenses … . While an adjudication or statements made to the court or an officer in a Family Court Act article 3 proceeding may not be used as proof at a SORA hearing, the People are not precluded from establishing the underlying conduct by other means … . The defendant’s juvenile delinquency adjudication was not rendered under New York’s Family Court Act article 3, and, thus, the provisions of the Family Court Act … do not apply to it. People v Hart, 2024 NY Slip Op 02071, Second Dept 4-17-24
Practice Point: A New York juvenile delinquency adjudication cannot be considered in a SORA risk-level assessment because of a prohibition in the Family Court Act. Because the Family Court Act does not apply to a New Jersey juvenile delinquency determination, and because New Jersey does not have a similar prohibition, the New Jersey adjudication can be considered in a New York SORA risk-level assessment.