Section 720.20. Youthful offender determination; when and how made; procedure thereupon

1.   Upon conviction of an eligible youth,  the  court  must  order  a
  pre-sentence investigation of the defendant.  After receipt of a written
  report  of the investigation and at the time of pronouncing sentence the
  court must determine whether or not the eligible  youth  is  a  youthful
  offender.   Such determination shall be in accordance with the following
  criteria:
    (a)  If in the opinion of the court the interest of justice  would  be
  served  by  relieving  the  eligible  youth  from the onus of a criminal
  record and by not imposing an indeterminate term of imprisonment of more
  than four years, the court may, in its  discretion,  find  the  eligible
  youth is a youthful offender; and
    (b)    Where  the  conviction is had in a local criminal court and the
  eligible youth had not prior to commencement of trial or entry of a plea
  of guilty been convicted of a crime or found a  youthful  offender,  the
  court must find he is a youthful offender.
    2.    Where  an  eligible youth is convicted of two or more crimes set
  forth in separate counts of an accusatory instrument or set forth in two
  or more accusatory instruments  consolidated  for  trial  purposes,  the
  court  must  not  find  him a youthful offender with respect to any such
  conviction pursuant to subdivision one of this section unless  it  finds
  him a youthful offender with respect to all such convictions.
    3.    Upon  determining that an eligible youth is a youthful offender,
  the court must direct that the conviction be deemed vacated and replaced
  by a  youthful  offender  finding;  and  the  court  must  sentence  the
  defendant pursuant to section 60.02 of the penal law.
    4.    Upon  determining  that  an  eligible  youth  is  not a youthful
  offender, the court must order the accusatory  instrument  unsealed  and
  continue the action to judgment pursuant to the ordinary rules governing
  criminal prosecutions.