Court Processing - PINS Original Petitions Disposed at Initial Appearance
Court Processing - PINS Original Petitions Disposed at Initial Appearance[view
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Data Provider:NYS Office of Court Administration
Life
Area: Civic Engagement
Definition:
Sometimes Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) petitions are resolved or disposed at the initial court appearance. This can take place for a number of reasons, for example, the petition may be withdrawn by the prosecuting attorney and dismissed by the court, the respondent may accept the terms of a conditional discharge, probation, or an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, or the petition could be settled or transferred to another jurisdiction or the respondent could receive a suspended judgment. For whatever reason the case is disposed, the number of cases resolved or disposed at the initial court appearance are counted as the number of cases in which the initial appearance date is the same as the disposition date. The indicator is the number of these cases divided by the total number of PINS original petitions filed.
Significance:
When a PINS case is disposed at the first court appearance, generally, this is an indication of the relatively low severity of the petition's allegations, or that the necessary step to be taken for intervention is clear and agreed upon by all parties. For example, if the respondent is in court for a first appearance on a PINS petition due to a lack of success in a diversion program, the standard next step is to place the respondent on a term of formal probation.
Findings:
In 2006, 6.5 percent of the PINS original petitions filed in New York State were disposed at the initial appearance, dropping from 10.4 percent in 2004 and 2005.
KWIC
Indicator(s) and Narrative For: