Photo: Judges from around the state listening to the presentations.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Rye Brook, New York
The 2018 Judicial Summer Seminar got underway this year at the Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, New York, with three sessions scheduled to accommodate the 1,050 UCS Judges who will attend. Presentations are planned on topics that range from Civil Practice and Procedure to Getting to Know Technology and Social Media Platforms In The Courtroom and much more, but much emphasis is focused on Raise the Age. The Seminar began with an overview of Raise the Age, which will go into effect in October 2018, presented by the Hon. Michael V. Coccoma, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for the Courts Outside New York City and the Hon. Edwina G. Mendelson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives. Judges Coccoma and Mendelson emphasized the profound impact of the legislation and the steps being taken to implement it. These include changes in courtroom facilities, personnel and procedure to accommodate the shift of cases involving 16-and 17-year old defendants to Family Court, where they will be treated as juvenile delinquents. It is expected that up to 6,000 misdemeanor cases, currently heard in adult Criminal Court, will be subject to Family Court jurisdiction in the first year and, after full implementation of the law in October 2019, up to 14,000 misdemeanor cases involving 16-and 17-year olds will no longer be subject to adult prosecution. Most of these cases will be subject to adjustment by the Department of Probation, which is a form of diversion that will not require a Family Court Petition. Additionally, it is expected that the Raise the Age legislation will allow several thousand less serious felony cases to be removed from the newly created Youth Parts of Superior Court to the Family Courts, where youth will be subject to the wide range of dispositional alternatives available in that court.
Photo: Hon. Edwina G. Mendelson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives and Hon. Michael V. Coccoma, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for the Courts Outside New York City.