Raise the Age of Criminal Responsibility in New York

The enacted 2017-18 New York State Budget, Part WWW of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017 included language to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

This newly enacted legislation includes statutory amendments that create a new Adolescent Offender (AO) classification, establishes a new Youth Part in the Superior Court, and requires all misdemeanor cases, except for Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) misdemeanors, to be heard in Family Court.

On October 1, 2018, this legislation went into effect for 16-year-old offenders taken into custody. On October 1, 2019, this legislation went into effect for 17-year-old offenders taken into custody.