Opinion
10-04-2017
In the Matter of ISIAH L. (Anonymous), appellant.
Glenn Gucciardo, Northport, NY, for appellant. Dennis M. Brown, County Attorney, Central Islip, NY (Ralph M.C. Sabatino of counsel), for respondent.
Glenn Gucciardo, Northport, NY, for appellant.
Dennis M. Brown, County Attorney, Central Islip, NY (Ralph M.C. Sabatino of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal from an order of fact-finding and disposition of the Family Court, Suffolk County (Philip Goglas, J.), dated December 22, 2016. The order of fact-finding and disposition, insofar as appealed from, upon adjudicating the appellant a juvenile delinquent, placed him in the custody of the Commissioner of Social Services of Suffolk County for a period of one year.
ORDERED that the order of fact-finding and disposition is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.
In this juvenile delinquency proceeding, the appellant made an admission to committing acts which, if committed by an adult, would have constituted the crime of criminal trespass in the second degree.
Contrary to the appellant's contention, the Family Court providently exercised its discretion in placing him in the custody of the Commissioner of Social Services of Suffolk County for a period of one year. "The Family Court has broad discretion in entering dispositional orders, and its determination is accorded great deference on appeal" ( Matter of Nysaiah L., 125 A.D.3d 776, 777, 4 N.Y.S.3d 76 ). "[T]he least restrictive alternative test does not require the court to actually try the lowest form of intervention, have it fail, and then try each succeeding level of intervention before ordering ... placement" ( Matter of Sharice B., 149 A.D.3d 833, 833, 51 N.Y.S.3d 620 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Matter of Tristan W., 258 A.D.2d 585, 586, 685 N.Y.S.2d 477 ). Here, the disposition was the least restrictive alternative consistent with the needs and best interests of the appellant and the need for protection of the community in light of, inter alia, the appellant's history of juvenile delinquency and disciplinary problems, and his violation of the terms and conditions of his probation on a prior adjudication (see Family Ct. Act § 352.2[2][a] ; Matter of Dillon R., 130 A.D.3d 629, 10 N.Y.S.3d 896 ; Matter of Jalen G., 104 A.D.3d 853, 961 N.Y.S.2d 536 ; Matter of Isaiah B., 98 A.D.3d 435, 436, 949 N.Y.S.2d 682 ; Matter of Lucius A., 258 A.D.2d 389, 683 N.Y.S.2d 850 ).
BALKIN, J.P., AUSTIN, SGROI and LaSALLE, JJ., concur.