As of January 2019, The District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA) increased the age range for youth adult offenders from 22 to under 25. This increase will allow more youth first-time offenders to cash in on the benefits of expungement that this amended act entails.
What is the YRA?
In 1985, the District of Columbia created the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA). The YRA aims to provide sentencing alternatives to first-time young adult offenders. The YRA gives arrested youth offenders charged with a crime the ability to have their case sealed after successfully completing the mandated requirements. The newly amended act, which includes an age increase, also includes new conditions the offenders must meet in order to receive the sentence from the YRA.
The new condition that must be met includes no fewer than 90 hours of community service to a government agency in the District, a non-profit, or a community service organization. The offender must test negative on drug screens. Both requirements must be met and completed for the offender to receive a sentence from the Youth Rehabilitation Act.
Benefits of Youth Rehabilitation Act
The Youth Rehabilitation Act’s benefits are priceless for offenders who have committed their first crime. The ability to seal a case almost immediately after the offender has been sentenced is extremely valuable for reintegration back into the community, and it is one of the key goals of criminal justice.
Many offenders convicted of a crime would be required by law to reveal their criminal record to future employers, among others. Once the case is sealed, first-time offenders would no longer have to indicate that they have a criminal record because this information would no longer be available to the public per statute. Sealing cases for first-time offenders gives those the ability to break the never-ending cycle of reentering the criminal justice system.
Realities of the YRA
While the benefit of the YRA is unquestionable, not every case that is eligible under the YRA is granted. According to The District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act: An Analysis Briefing Document performed by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, of the 5,166 YRA-eligible cases open from 2010-2012, about 60 percent received the YRA sentence (McCann). The reason for this disparity is based on the approximate fourteen factors that are taken into consideration for each offender on a case-by-case basis.
Many factors might affect an offender’s eligibility to receive the benefits from the Youth Rehabilitation Act, ranging from reports of physical, mental, and psychiatric examinations to the victim’s impact statements. In addition to the many factors that might affect an offender’s ability to receive a sentence from the YRA, oftentimes, the offender is unable to complete the requirements given to them by the court. Of the limited number of people who are eligible for the YRA, only a portion of said people actually complete the conditions.
Overall, while many limits are put forth to restrict the number of people eligible and who actually complete the requirements, this is all to ensure that people who are given this second chance opportunity are serious. Our criminal justice system typically focuses primarily on key goals such as deterrence, retribution, and incapacitation for the victim and secondarily on retribution of the offender.
Once a person commits a crime, often they are stuck in a never-ending cycle of jail and crime because of the current laws that impact felons. The Youth Rehabilitation Act is the first step in moving in the correct direction to create a criminal justice system that works to rehabilitate offenders rather than incarcerate them.
Contact An Experienced Defense Attorney
If you are under the age of 25 and charged with a criminal offense in the District of Columbia, you must contact a DC criminal defense attorney who is familiar with all of your options to avoid a permanent conviction on your record. Contact Bruckheim & Patel at (202)930-3464.
McCann, Ellen P. THE DISTRICT’S YOUTH REHABILITATION ACT: An Analysis Briefing Document. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for the District of Columbia
