BILL NUMBER: S7133

SPONSOR: GRIFFO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to requiring
affirmative consent for the disclosure of contact information of
witnesses to a defendant

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to allow the witness to a crime to decide
whether their personal information may be shared with defense counsel or
the individual(s) accused of having committed a crime.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 provides that law enforcement personnel conducting the initial
interview of someone who has evidence or information relevant to an
offense for which someone will be charged with a crime must request
whether or not such witness is comfortable with their personal informa-
              

tion being disclosed to the defense. A witness must provide a justifica-
tion for why they do not wish to have their information shared with the
defense.

Section 2 marks the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The hastily enacted criminal justice reforms of 2019 have jeopardized
the safety of New York's communities. One of the more disconcerting
policies enacted as part of these sweeping changes is the disclosure of
personal information related to a witness to a crime to the defense and
the accused. Such a policy has the potential to lead to witness intim-
idation via the accused or their associates. This could have a crippling
effect on cases presented by district attorneys, as well as a chilling
effect on the willingness of witnesses to come forward to identify them-
selves to law enforcement and prosecutors.

While it is true that the disclosure of a physical address tied to a
witness is not to be automatically revealed to the defense or the
accused, such information can be achieved through other forms of iden-
tification that will be disclosed. Additionally, witness intimidation is
not solely limited to an in-person confrontation between the accused and
a witness; witness intimidation can occur by way of traditional means of
communication, as well as via associates of an accused individual.

It is important that the state provide a witness to a crime the ability
to prevent personally identifiable information from being shared with
the defense or the accused, if they feel that their safety or the safety
of their loved ones is jeopardized through the reporting of such infor-
mation. This bill would provide for a witness to state to law enforce-
ment that they are either comfortable with the release of their personal
information or whether they are concerned that such disclosure would
jeopardize their safety or the safety of those around them. A justifica-
tion must be provided to law enforcement at that time and is subject to
review by a judge.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.