6.15Holmes Youthful Trainee Act¹

The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, MCL 762.11 et seq., provides a mechanism for certain individuals to be excused from having a criminal record. People v Rahilly, 247 Mich App 108, 113 (2001).² See also MCL 762.14(1) (“[U]pon final release of the individual from the status of youthful trainee, the court shall discharge the individual and dismiss the proceedings.”) Specifically, beginning October 1, 2021,³ MCL 762.11(2) states that in certain circumstances “if an individual pleads guilty to a criminal offense, committed on or after the individual’s eighteenth birthday but before his or her twenty-sixth birthday, the court of record having jurisdiction of the criminal offense may, without entering a judgment of conviction and with the consent of that individual, consider and assign that individual to the status of youthful trainee.” However, “[i]f the offense was committed on or after the individual’s twenty-first birthday but before his or her twenty-sixth birthday, the individual shall not be assigned to youthful trainee status without the consent of the prosecuting attorney.” Id. Further, the prosecutor is required to consult with the victim about the applicability of youthful trainee status under certain circumstances. Id.

Assignment of an individual to youthful trainee status under MCL 762.11 is discretionary. People v Gow, 203 Mich App 94, 96 (1993). MCL 762.11 is remedial “and should be construed liberally for the advancement of the remedy.”People v Bobek, 217 Mich App 524, 529 (1996).

Certain individuals are ineligible for youthful trainee status; specifically, an individual is not eligible if the offense for which he or she seeks deferral is a felony punishable by life imprisonment or a major controlled substance offense. MCL 762.11(3)(a)-(b).⁴