NY State Senate Bill 2015-S4537

Senate Bill S4537

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Relates to when booking photographs taken after arrest of a person or the defendant shall be made publicly available

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to codes
Mar 26, 2015	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

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2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A626
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §160.10, CP L; amd §51, Civ Rts L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S7304, A8731
2017-2018: S5029, A838
2019-2020: S1998, A323

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to when booking photographs taken after arrest of a person or the defendant shall be made publicly available.

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S4537

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the criminal procedure law and the
civil rights law, in relation to when booking photographs shall be
made available

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prevent booking photographs, also known as "mug shots," from being
made available to the public, with certain exceptions.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends Subdivision 3 of Section 160.10 of the Criminal
Procedure Law, which permits a booking photograph and palm prints to
be taken of an arrested person or defendant. The amendment to this
section requires that a photograph taken pursuant to this subdivision
may not be made publicly available during the pendency of the charge
or charges brought with respect to the arrest. However, there are
three exceptions.

The first exception is release to a person, agency or entity
performing a criminal justice function, as defined in subdivision 10
of section 835 of the executive law; the second exception is release
of the photograph pursuant to a court order directing the release of
such photograph; and the third exception is release to the arrested

person or defendant, upon his request.

Section 2. Amends Section 51 of the Civil Rights Law to correct a
reference to Section 50 of the Civil Rights Law. This change is
non-substantive.

Section 3. Contains the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

In recent years, booking photographs, or "mug shots" as they are
commonly known, have become available on the Internet. The mug shots
are often released by police departments to local newspapers and other
media. Following the release of mug shots to the press, Internet
website owners and operators search local newspapers for mug shots to
Post on their websites. These owners may also obtain the mug shots
from filing requests for public records. These websites are often the
first results when an individual is looked up on search engines.

It is important to note that mug shots are not proof of a conviction.
Many of the individuals whose mug shots are on the Internet were not
charged or have not been convicted. In 2012 in New York, 44% percent
of individuals arrested were not convicted. However, because of the
mug shots, they may be prevented from obtaining or keeping their jobs,
and there could be other negative consequences as a result. Mug shot
website owners have been taking advantage of these individuals by
charging exorbitant fees for the removal of these photographs from
their websites and this legislation would help to prevent such
extortion from taking place.


This legislation would prohibit mug shots from becoming publicly
available until conviction, with certain exceptions for criminal
justice functions and compliance with court orders. A valid law
enforcement purpose also includes use by defense attorneys, and allows
for publication by newspapers to aid in the arrest or apprehension of
wanted criminals. The mug shots are also available upon request to the
arrested person.  Persons who use any image for purposes of
advertising or trade without consent may, under existing law, be
subject to civil suit.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2013-2014: A.8731/S.7304 - Ordered to Third Reading - Rules

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

60 days after it shall have become a law.

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4537

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 26, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. PERKINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the civil rights law,  in
  relation to when booking photographs shall be made available

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 160.10 of the  criminal  procedure
law,  as  amended by chapter 762 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read
as follows:
  3. Whenever fingerprints are required to be taken pursuant to subdivi-
sion one or permitted to be  taken  pursuant  to  subdivision  two,  the
photograph  and  palmprints  of the arrested person or the defendant, as
the case may be, may also be taken.  DURING THE PENDENCY OF  THE  CHARGE
OR  CHARGES  BROUGHT  WITH RESPECT TO SUCH ARREST, SUMMONS OR APPEARANCE
TICKET, A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION MAY NOT BE  MADE
PUBLICLY  AVAILABLE, BUT SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE (A) TO A PERSON, AGENCY
OR ENTITY PERFORMING A CRIMINAL JUSTICE FUNCTION, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION TEN OF SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, UPON
ITS REQUEST, FOR ANY SUCH FUNCTION, WHICH MAY WHEN  APPROPRIATE  INCLUDE
PUBLIC RELEASE OF SUCH PHOTOGRAPH; (B) PURSUANT TO A COURT ORDER DIRECT-
ING  THE  RELEASE  OF SUCH PHOTOGRAPH; AND (C) TO THE ARRESTED PERSON OR
DEFENDANT, UPON HIS OR HER REQUEST.
  S 2. Section 51 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 674  of
the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
  S  51.  Action  for injunction and for damages. Any person whose name,
portrait, picture or voice is used within  this  state  for  advertising
purposes  or for the purposes of trade without the written consent first
obtained as [above] provided IN SECTION FIFTY OF THIS ARTICLE may  main-
tain  an equitable action in the supreme court of this state against the
person, firm or corporation so using his OR HER name, portrait,  picture
or  voice, to prevent and restrain the use thereof; and may also sue and

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02343-01-5

S. 4537                             2

recover damages for any injuries sustained by reason of such use and  if
the  defendant  shall  have knowingly used such person's name, portrait,
picture or voice in such manner as is forbidden or declared to be unlaw-
ful  by  section fifty of this article, the jury, in its discretion, may
award exemplary damages. But nothing contained in this article shall  be
so  construed as to prevent any person, firm or corporation from selling
or otherwise transferring any material containing such  name,  portrait,
picture  or voice in whatever medium to any user of such name, portrait,
picture or voice, or to any third party for sale or transfer directly or
indirectly to such a user, for use in a manner lawful under  this  arti-
cle;  nothing  contained  in  this  article  shall be so construed as to
prevent any person, firm or corporation, practicing  the  profession  of
photography, from exhibiting in or about his or its establishment speci-
mens  of the work of such establishment, unless the same is continued by
such person, firm or corporation after written notice objecting  thereto
has  been  given  by the person portrayed; and nothing contained in this
article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm  or  corpo-
ration  from  using the name, portrait, picture or voice of any manufac-
turer or dealer in connection with  the  goods,  wares  and  merchandise
manufactured,  produced or dealt in by him which he has sold or disposed
of with such name, portrait, picture or voice used in connection  there-
with;  or from using the name, portrait, picture or voice of any author,
composer or artist in connection with his literary, musical or  artistic
productions  which  he has sold or disposed of with such name, portrait,
picture or voice used in connection therewith.    Nothing  contained  in
this  section  shall  be  construed to prohibit the copyright owner of a
sound recording from disposing of, dealing in, licensing or selling that
sound recording to any party, if the  right  to  dispose  of,  deal  in,
license  or  sell such sound recording has been conferred by contract or
other written document by such living  person  or  the  holder  of  such
right.  Nothing  contained  in the foregoing sentence shall be deemed to
abrogate or otherwise limit any rights or remedies  otherwise  conferred
by federal law or state law.
  S  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.

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Senate Bill S4537

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Sponsored By

Bill Perkins

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

co-Sponsors

Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Liz Krueger

Velmanette Montgomery

Kevin S. Parker

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S4537 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments