NY State Senate Bill 2019-S7127

Senate Bill S7127

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Enables prosecutors to access orders of protection issued in association with sealed prior domestic violence cases

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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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2019-S7127 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9540
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§160.50 & 160.55, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S404, A3422
2023-2024: S3071, A961

2019-S7127 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enables prosecutors to access orders of protection issued in association with sealed prior domestic violence cases if the offender commits a new domestic violence offense.

2019-S7127 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7127

SPONSOR: BIAGGI
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to sealed prior
domestic violence cases

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that prosecutors have access to past orders of protection in
domestic violence cases so they can charge abusers with criminal
contempt if they violated a past order of protection.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends part ii of paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section
160.50 of the Criminal Procedure Law to include prosecutors in the list
of those who are allowed to file an ex parte motion requesting access to
sealed documents.

Section 2 amends part ii of paragraph (d) subdivision 1 of section
160.55 of the Criminal Procedure Law to include prosecutors in the list
of those who are allowed to file an ex parte motion requesting access to
sealed documents.

Section 3 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Domestic abusers often violate orders of protection or abuse previous
victims again. In order to charge repeat offenders with criminal
contempt, prosecutors need to be able to access previous orders of
protection an offender has violated. However, under the existing inter-
pretation of law, only law enforcement officials can petition a court to
access previously sealed records.

Sections 160.50 and 160.55 of the Criminal Procedure Law currently spec-
ify that a "law enforcement agency" may petition the court to access
sealed records that are relevant to a new proceeding. Per a ruling of
the New York Court of Appeals in Katherine B. v. Cataldo (1995), prose-
cutors are not considered a law enforcement agency in this context and
cannot petition the court to access documents from a sealed case even if
they, are relevant to a new case. This legislation would add prosecutors
to both relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Law to clarify that
they may file an ex parte motion.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S7127 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7127
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to sealed  prior
   domestic violence cases
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of  section  160.50  of  the
 criminal  procedure  law, as amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2015,
 is amended to read as follows:
   (d) such records shall be made available to the person accused  or  to
 such  person's  designated  agent,  and shall be made available to (i) a
 prosecutor in any proceeding in which the accused has moved for an order
 pursuant to section 170.56 or 210.46 of this  chapter,  or  (ii)  a  law
 enforcement  agency OR A PROSECUTOR upon ex parte motion in any superior
 court, or in any district court, city court or the criminal court of the
 city of New York provided that such court sealed  the  record,  if  such
 agency  OR PROSECUTOR demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that
 justice requires that such records be made available to it, or (iii) any
 state or local officer or agency with responsibility for the issuance of
 licenses to possess guns, when the accused has made application for such
 a license, or (iv) the New York  state  department  of  corrections  and
 community  supervision  when  the  accused is on parole supervision as a
 result of conditional release or a parole release  granted  by  the  New
 York  state  board of parole, and the arrest which is the subject of the
 inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was  under  such  super-
 vision,  or  (v)  any  prospective employer of a police officer or peace
 officer as those terms are  defined  in  subdivisions  thirty-three  and
 thirty-four  of section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an applica-
 tion for employment as a police  officer  or  peace  officer;  provided,
 however,  that  every  person  who  is  an applicant for the position of
 police officer or peace officer shall be furnished with a  copy  of  all
 records  obtained  under  this  paragraph and afforded an opportunity to
 make an explanation thereto, or (vi) the probation department  responsi-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14281-01-9

 S. 7127                             2
 
 ble  for supervision of the accused when the arrest which is the subject
 of the inquiry is one which occurred while the accused  was  under  such
 supervision; and
   §  2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.55 of the criminal
 procedure law, as amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2015, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (d) the records referred to in paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall
 be made available to the person accused or to such  person's  designated
 agent, and shall be made available to (i) a prosecutor in any proceeding
 in  which  the accused has moved for an order pursuant to section 170.56
 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law enforcement agency OR A  PROSE-
 CUTOR  upon  ex  parte  motion in any superior court, or in any district
 court, city court or the criminal court of the city of New York provided
 that such court sealed the record, if such agency OR  PROSECUTOR  demon-
 strates to the satisfaction of the court that justice requires that such
 records  be made available to it, or (iii) any state or local officer or
 agency with responsibility for the issuance of licenses to possess guns,
 when the accused has made application for such a license,  or  (iv)  the
 New  York state department of corrections and community supervision when
 the accused is under parole  supervision  as  a  result  of  conditional
 release  or parole release granted by the New York state board of parole
 and the arrest which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred
 while the accused was under  such  supervision,  or  (v)  the  probation
 department  responsible  for  supervision of the accused when the arrest
 which is the subject of the inquiry is  one  which  occurred  while  the
 accused  was  under such supervision, or (vi) a police agency, probation
 department, sheriff's office, district attorney's office, department  of
 correction  of  any municipality and parole department, for law enforce-
 ment purposes, upon arrest in instances in which the  individual  stands
 convicted  of  harassment  in  the  second degree, as defined in section
 240.26 of the penal law, committed against a member of the  same  family
 or  household as the defendant, as defined in subdivision one of section
 530.11 of this chapter, and determined pursuant to  subdivision  eight-a
 of section 170.10 of this title; and
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S7127

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Sponsored By

Alessandra Biaggi