Procedure for district attorney presentation
§ 254-a. Procedure for district attorney presentation. 1. The county attorney and the district attorney of a county, and the corporation counsel of the city of New York and the district attorney of any county in such city, may enter into an agreement whereby the district attorney shall present the case in support of the petition in which a designated felony act has been alleged.
2. Where such agreement has been entered into, in the case of a respondent who is alleged to have done two or more acts which, if done by an adult, would constitute joinable offenses pursuant to subdivision two of section 200.20 of the criminal procedure law, the district attorney shall present the juvenile delinquency petition with respect to all such acts, notwithstanding less than all of such acts constitute designated felony acts.
3. Where such agreement has been entered into, the district attorney shall also present petitions which have been filed against all respondents who are accused of participating, in concert, in the commission of a designated felony act, notwithstanding less than all of such respondents are charged with having committed a designated felony act. Such petition shall be adjudicated in a single fact-finding hearing, unless the court orders separate fact-finding hearings for good cause shown.
4. When presenting cases the district attorney shall have the same powers under this act as the corporation counsel or county attorney and shall assist in all stages of the proceedings including appeals in connection therewith.
5. Such agreement shall be subject to the approval in the city of New York of its mayor, and outside the city of the respective county executive, if there be one, otherwise, the board of supervisors.
6. The district attorney may elect to present the petition against a respondent, who was the defendant in a criminal proceeding removed to the family court pursuant to article seven hundred twenty-five of the criminal procedure law, when a proceeding under article three is commenced as a result of the order of removal.
1. The county attorney/corporation counsel and the DA may agree the DA will present cases alleging a designated felony act.
2. Where agreed, the DA presents the whole delinquency petition covering joinable offenses even if not all are designated felonies.
3. The DA also presents petitions against co-respondents acting in concert, adjudicated in a single fact-finding hearing unless the court orders otherwise for good cause.
4. The DA then has the same powers as corporation counsel/county attorney.
5. The agreement needs mayor (NYC) / county executive or board of supervisors approval.
6. The DA may elect to present a petition against a respondent removed from a criminal case (CPL Art. 725) into an Article 3 proceeding.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 5 — The JG-22 Family Court Act and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.