BILL NUMBER:S1431

TITLE  OF BILL:  An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation
to the statute of limitations in cases in which  a  DNA  sample  from  a
crime  scene  cannot  be matched to an individual in the state DNA iden-
tification index

PURPOSE:
This bill would provide for tolling of the  statute  of  limitations  in
criminal  cases in which the identity of the defendant is established by
means of DNA evidence.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one would amend paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section  30.10
of  the  Criminal  Procedure  Law  to toll the statute of limitations in
criminal cases in which the identity of the defendant is established  by
means of DNA evidence.

Section  two  provides  that  the  bill  would  take effect immediately,
provided, however, that the amendment to paragraph (a) of subdivision  4
of section 30.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law made by section one would
apply  to  offenses where the applicable period of limitation, including
any extension of such period of limitation pursuant  to  law  in  effect
before such effective date, has not expired on such effective date.

EXISTING LAW:
              

Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 4 of section 30.10 of the Criminal Proce-
dure Law provides that in calculating the applicable period  of  limita-
tion,  any  period  following the commission of the offense during which
the defendant was continuously outside this state or the whereabouts  of
the defendant were continuously unknown and continuously unascertainable
by the exercise of reasonable diligence shall not be included. The peri-
od  of limitation may not be extended by more than five years beyond the
applicable period.

JUSTIFICATION:
Statutes of limitation encourage law enforcement officials  to  promptly
investigate  suspected  criminal  activity  and protect individuals from
having to defend themselves against charges when  the  basic  facts  may
have  become  obscured  by  the  passage of time. However, many criminal
prosecutions are thwarted, despite reasonable diligence by law  enforce-
ment officials, by the perpetrator's efforts to avoid identification.

DNA  increasingly  allows  the  perpetrators  of crimes to be positively
ascertained many years after the crime was committed and the statute  of
limitations  has  expired.  This  is particularly true as more offenders
have their DNA added to the State DNA Databank and are thereafter linked
to crimes they committed years before.  Under  such  circumstances,  the
policy  considerations sought to be addressed by statutes of limitations
are no longer valid. In essence, the underlying rationale behind a stat-
ute of limitations -- to guard against potentially unreliable  identifi-

cation  testimony  offered  by an eyewitness whose memory has faded with
the passage of time -- evaporates in the  face  of  scientific  evidence
whose  accuracy  is  not  diminished  by  the  passage  of time. In such
instances, perpetrators of crimes should not be allowed to use the stat-
ute  of  limitations as a shield to protect them against prosecution for
the crimes they have committed.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2011-2012 - S.2001 - Advanced to third reading/Referred to Codes
2009/2010 - S.1479 - Referred to Codes
2007/2008 - S.2374 - Passed Senate

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately and applicable to offenses where the
applicable period of limitation, including any extension of such
period of limitation pursuant to law in effect before such effective
date, has not expired on such effective date.