In re James C.
Opinion of the Court
Appeal from an order of the Family Court of Broome County (Connerton, J.), entered December 12, 2006, which dismissed petitioner’s application, in a proceeding pursuant to Family Ct Act article 3, to adjudicate respondent a juvenile delinquent and committed him to the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for a period of one year.
In October 2006, petitioner commenced this juvenile delinquency proceeding against respondent (born in 1993), charging him with acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute sexual abuse in the first degree. Respondent had previously been found to be an incapacitated person in connection with a separate proceeding and, on the consent of the parties, Family Court adjudged him an incapacitated person herein without conducting a new capacity hearing. Following a probable cause hearing, Family Court determined that there was probable cause
At a probable cause hearing, Family Court is required to determine “whether it is reasonable to believe that a crime was committed[,] and . . . that the respondent committed such crime” (Family Ct Act § 325.3 [1]).
Peters, Spain, Carpinello and Kane, JJ., concur. Ordered that the order is modified, on the law, without costs, by reinstating the petition, and, as so modified, affirmed.
If Family Court finds a respondent to be incapacitated—which is not disputed here—and probable cause to believe the respondent committed a felony, “it shall order the respondent committed to the custody of the . . . commissioner of mental retardation and developmental disabilities for an initial period not to exceed one year” (Family Ct Act § 322.2 [5] [a]).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.