If your teen faces a felony in New York’s Youth Part, you may be able to move the case to Family Court, where the focus shifts to services and rehabilitation. A new appellate ruling from Richmond County reverses a Youth Part decision that blocked removal and explains what “extraordinary circumstances” really means under CPL 722.23. The court held that a sixteen-year-old charged with weapon possession should have been sent to Family Court because the record did not show the kind of highly unusual facts needed to keep the case in criminal court.
What The Court Held
Prosecutors conceded the case did not fit any of the automatic retention categories. There was no claim the teen displayed a firearm in furtherance of another offense, caused significant injury, or committed a sex offense. Instead, the People asked the judge to keep the case using the extraordinary-circumstances safety valve. Their proof relied on the felony complaint and an assistant district attorney’s affirmation referencing a prior youthful offender matter and a social media livestream showing the youth holding a gun while using marijuana. No person was harmed, no property damage occurred, and the firearm was not used to further any other crime.
The appellate panel found that record insufficient. The judges emphasized the statute’s presumption favoring removal, the Legislature’s intent that only truly exceptional cases remain in the Youth Part, and the well-documented differences between adolescents and adults. On those facts, the motion to prevent removal should have been denied.
How Courts Apply Extraordinary Circumstances
The opinion grounds the phrase in its ordinary meaning. Extraordinary means beyond the usual or customary. Lawmakers expected the overwhelming bulk of adolescent-offender cases to move to Family Court. Only the rare matter stays in criminal court, and only when aggravating features show cruelty, heinous conduct, repeated serious offending, or proof that the young person cannot benefit from Family Court services.
Simple possession of a loaded handgun by a sixteen-year-old, without display in furtherance of another offense and without injury, does not meet that bar. A vague reference to a prior youthful offender adjudication and an undated livestream did not transform ordinary facts into something exceptional. The panel also rejected the idea that one rearrest, with no conviction, proves a youth is beyond help. Progress with mentoring and programs counts in the analysis.
Why This Matters If Your Teen Faces Gun Charges
This decision gives your defense real leverage. If prosecutors cannot prove one of the narrow retention categories, the case presumptively goes to Family Court. A removal motion becomes the key battleground. You can push back when the People offer thin assertions or try to elevate ordinary possession into extraordinary conduct. You can insist on findings of fact tied to the statute, not generalizations about neighborhoods, peer influence, or adolescent bravado.
Family Court brings important advantages. The criminal case ends, the teen avoids a felony conviction, and the matter proceeds under the juvenile delinquency framework, which centers on treatment, schooling, counseling, and community support. That path shields future education and employment in ways a criminal judgment never will.
Building A Record That Supports Removal
Success turns on the hearing record. Defense counsel should highlight the absence of any display in furtherance of another offense, the lack of injury, and any mitigating factors. Education history, family context, mentoring, counseling, and program participation all matter. Letters from coaches, teachers, faith leaders, and clinicians help show amenability to services. If the prosecution submits unsourced or conclusory affirmations, demand underlying evidence or discount them as insufficient.
Where the People cite prior incidents, place them in context. A past youthful offender adjudication does not automatically block removal. Courts look for patterns of escalating behavior, not isolated acts from an earlier age. Demonstrating growth since prior events reinforces the case for Family Court jurisdiction.
Practical Steps For Families Right Now
Move quickly after arraignment. The statute sets short deadlines, and the Youth Part holds early hearings. Retain counsel experienced with Raise The Age practice. Gather school records, program certificates, treatment notes, and supportive statements. Document mentoring relationships and community ties. If the teen engaged with services after a prior case, obtain proof of that participation. Every concrete detail helps show that Family Court’s rehabilitative tools will work.
Defense lawyers should ask the judge to make written findings, as the statute requires. Clear findings benefit the youth at every stage and deter unsupported claims of exceptionality. If the court denies removal, preserve all issues for appellate review.
Talk To A New York Youth Crime Defense Lawyer
Your family does not have to accept a criminal court path when the law points to Family Court. Tilem & Associates understands Raise The Age litigation, removal hearings, and the proof needed to overcome extraordinary-circumstances claims. Call Tilem & Associates, P.C. to discuss a pending Youth Part case and learn how to protect your child’s future with a strategy built on this important ruling.