New York courts now have broad discretion to waive surcharges and fees where the judge finds that the person being sentenced was under the age of 21 at the time of the offense and that:
· the waiver is in the interests of justice;
· the imposition of the surcharge or fee would work an unreasonable hardship on the defendant, the defendant’s immediate family, or any other person dependent on the defendant for support; or
· after considering the goal of promoting successful and productive reentry and reintegration), the imposition of the surcharge or fee would adversely impact the defendant’s reintegration into society.
The new law was effective August 24, 2020 and the full text is available
here.
