N.Y. Family Court Act § 340.1: Time of fact-finding hearing

§ 340.1. Time of fact-finding hearing. 1. If the respondent is in

detention and the highest count in the petition charges the commission

of a class A, B, or C felony, the fact-finding hearing shall commence

not more than fourteen days after the conclusion of the initial

appearance except as provided in subdivision four. If the respondent is

in detention and the highest count in such petition is less than a class

C felony the fact-finding hearing shall commence no more than three days

after the conclusion of the initial appearance except as provided in

subdivision four.

2. If the respondent is not in detention the fact-finding hearing

shall commence not more than sixty days after the conclusion of the

initial appearance except as provided in subdivision four.

3. For the purposes of this section, in any case where a proceeding

has been removed to the family court pursuant to an order issued

pursuant to section 725.05 of the criminal procedure law, the date

specified in such order for the defendant's appearance in the family

court shall constitute the date of the initial appearance.

4. The court may adjourn a fact-finding hearing:

(a) on its own motion or on motion of the presentment agency for good

cause shown for not more than three days if the respondent is in

detention and not more than thirty days if the respondent is not in

detention; provided, however, that if there is probable cause to believe

the respondent committed a homicide or a crime which resulted in a

person being incapacitated from attending court, the court may adjourn

the hearing for a reasonable length of time; or

(b) on motion by the respondent for good cause shown for not more than

thirty days; or

(c) on its own motion for not more than six months if the proceeding

has been adjourned in contemplation of dismissal pursuant to section

315.3.

5. The court shall state on the record the reason for any adjournment

of the fact-finding hearing.

6. Successive motions to adjourn a fact-finding hearing shall not be

granted in the absence of a showing, on the record, of special

circumstances; such circumstances shall not include calendar congestion

or the status of the court's docket or backlog.

7. For purposes of this section, if a warrant for the respondent's

arrest has been issued pursuant to section 312.2 of this article due to

the respondent's failure to appear for a scheduled fact-finding hearing,

computation of the time within which such hearing must take place shall

exclude the period extending from the date of issuance of the bench

warrant for respondent's arrest because of his or her failure to appear

to the date the respondent subsequently appears in court pursuant to a

bench warrant or appears voluntarily; provided, however, no period of

time may be excluded hereunder unless the respondent's location cannot

be determined by the exercise of due diligence or, if the respondent's

location is known, his or her presence in court cannot be obtained by

the exercise of due diligence. In determining whether due diligence has

been exercised, the court shall consider, among other factors, the

report presented to the court pursuant to subdivision two of section

312.2 of this article.