A Rochester driver who is at least sixteen years old but less than nineteen years old may be adjudicated as a “youthful offender” if convicted of a drinking and driving offense.

Youthful offender adjudication is mandatory for first time offenders convicted of a misdemeanor – such as Driving While Intoxicated or Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated per se – and may be used at the court’s discretion for repeat offenders or for individuals convicted of a felony.

The record following a youthful offender adjudication is sealed and – except under limited circumstances – is not available to any public or private entity in the future.

Also, the defendant is not legally considered to have been convicted of any offense.

Because the driver’s license penalties associated with a DWI conviction are technically handled by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, not the court, the law does allow the court to report the Youthful Offender Adjudication to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV will then impose the same driver’s license penalty as it would have had the youthful offender’s record not been sealed.

Because this information is reported to the DMV, a driver granted youthful offender adjudication following a drinking and driving conviction may want to check his or her driving record after the court record surrounding the arrest and conviction is sealed.

While the DMV is not supposed to make any information regarding the youthful offender adjudication available, it is not unusual for the DMV to mistakenly list a conviction for DWI on the youthful offender’s driving record.

The purpose of the youthful offender adjudication is to keep the offense from following the youth around in the future, and the DMV should be contacted and asked to correct this error if it appears on the driver’s record.

Anyone arrested for DWI needs to understand the potential driver’s license penalties.

Call us at 585-484-7432 for legal help.