BILL NUMBER:S3324

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An act to amend the family court act and the penal
law, in  relation  to  prohibiting  public  officials  from  unsealing
juvenile police records

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:  To prevent the unsealing and release
of  information  contained  in  juvenile  offender  records  by public
officials and/or employees by making the offense punishable under  the
penal law.

SUMMARY  OF  SPECIFIC  PROVISIONS:   This bill amends section 1 of the
Family Court Act by adding a new section 381.4 to provide that, unless
authorized by a court of competent  jurisdiction,  the  release  by  a
public  official  and/o/ an employee of juvenile offender records, and
other  court  records  that  have  been,  and  are  sealed,  shall  be
specifically prohibited by law.

Section  195.00  of  the  Penal  Law  is also amended to provide that,
unless authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction, the release by
an appointed or elected public official and/or a  public  employee  of
juvenile  offender records and other court records that have been, and
are sealed pursuant to law, shall be an act of official misconduct.

JUSTIFICATION:    Under  current  law,  juvenile   offender   records,
inclusive  of  the  records  and  entire  documents,  are sealed after
              

adjudication to protect the privacy of the  entire  proceeding.  State
laws  specifically  and directly restrict the access to and disclosure
of the information and the record. But, while the  law  clearly  makes
the  release  of  the  record  unlawful,  there is no specific penalty
attached for violation of the law. The  people  most  likely  to  have
access  to  these records, and therefore most likely to be the conduit
for release and disclosure are public  employees,  and  appointed  and
elected  officials.  Because  no  specific  penalty  or consequence is
prescribed by current law, the only real deterrent is moral or ethical
obligation. Recent behavior by high ranking officials  in  N.Y.C.  has
demonstrated that in the absence of moral/ethical obligations, the law
without  teeth  does not always work. This bill, if enacted, would put
teeth in the law by  providing  for  penalties  appropriate  for  such
misconduct  by  public officials and employees who dishonor their oath
of office.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:   2009-10: S.7143/A.3370  (Perry)  Reported
and Committed to Codes 2007-08: A.5060 2005-06: A.5017 2003-04: A.6714
2001-02: A.7080

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  No fiscal implications to the state.

EFFECTIVE  DATE:   This act shall take effect on the first of November
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.