NY State Senate Bill 2021-S256

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 05, 2022	referred to codes
Jan 06, 2021	referred to codes

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §720.20, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S5391
2023-2024: S3045

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that eligible youth who were not given youthful offender status by the court be eligible for conviction sealing.

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S256

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to eligibility
for conviction sealing for eligible youth

 
PURPOSE:

To amend the eligibility of the record-sealing provisions of the Raise
the Age law.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 720.20 of the criminal procedure law by adding
a new subdivision 5 to provide that a defendant who was eligible but not
determined to be a youthful offender shall be eligible to apply for
conviction sealing for eligible offenses.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The record sealing law passed as part of New York's Raise the Age legis-
lation was an important step towards reducing the burden past
convictions carry for people who were involved in the criminal justice
system as teenagers. However, although the law allows individuals to
apply to have their convictions sealed if a judge granted youthful
offender treatment, those who were denied this status despite being
eligible are left behind. This shortcoming in the law perpetuates ineq-
uities in our criminal justice system and prevents successful reentry
for defendants who have served their time and remained law-abiding citi-
zens for ten years or more.

This amendment was proposed by state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Zayas
in a decision where he was unable to approve the sealing request of a
defendant identified as Jane Doe who had been convicted of attempted
second-degree robbery at the age of sixteen. Although she was eligible
to receive youthful offender treatment, the sentencing court did not
grant it. Since completing her probation in 1988, she has not been
convicted or arrested for any further crimes, yet Justice Zayas was
constrained by the current statute and forced to deny her request to
have her conviction sealed, a result he described as "inconsistent with
the laudable goals of the sealing statute" (2018 NY Slip Op 28390).

Expanding eligibility for conviction sealing will give individuals like
Jane Doe, who have made every effort to turn their lives around, the
opportunities they deserve to move beyond the barrier of a criminal
record. This bill will help reduce disparities in the justice system and
enable more New Yorkers to fully integrate into their communities with-
out being continuously stigmatized for mistakes made in their youth.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: 55391 - Referred to Codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    256
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- 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  eligibility
   for conviction sealing for eligible youth

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 720.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended  by
 adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
   5.  (A) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, WHERE AN ELIGIBLE YOUTH WAS NOT
 DETERMINED TO BE A YOUTHFUL OFFENDER BY THE COURT PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF THIS SECTION, BUT WAS OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE TO BE DETERMINED TO
 BE  A  YOUTHFUL OFFENDER PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE, SUCH INDIVIDUAL SHALL
 BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR CONVICTION SEALING IN ACCORDANCE  WITH  SECTION
 160.59  OF THIS CHAPTER. AN "ELIGIBLE OFFENSE" FOR SUCH INDIVIDUAL SHALL
 INCLUDE ANY CRIME DEFINED IN THE LAWS OF THIS STATE  OTHER  THAN  (I)  A
 CLASS  A-I  OR  CLASS A-II FELONY, OR (II) AN ARMED FELONY AS DEFINED IN
 SUBDIVISION FORTY-ONE  OF  SECTION  1.20  OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  EXCEPT  AS
 PROVIDED  IN  PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, OR (III) AN OFFENSE FOR
 WHICH REGISTRATION AS A SEX OFFENDER IS  REQUIRED  PURSUANT  TO  ARTICLE
 SIX-C OF THE CORRECTION LAW.
   (B)  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION, AN ELIGIBLE YOUTH WHO  HAS  BEEN  CONVICTED  OF  AN  ARMED  FELONY
 OFFENSE IS ELIGIBLE FOR CONVICTION SEALING PURSUANT TO SECTION 160.59 OF
 THIS  CHAPTER IF THE SENTENCING JUDGE, OR COUNTY OR SUPREME COURT DETER-
 MINES THAT ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING FACTORS  EXIST:  (I)  MITIGATING
 CIRCUMSTANCES  THAT BEAR DIRECTLY UPON THE MANNER IN WHICH THE CRIME WAS
 COMMITTED; OR (II) WHERE THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT THE SOLE  PARTICIPANT  IN
 THE  CRIME,  THE DEFENDANT'S PARTICIPATION WAS RELATIVELY MINOR ALTHOUGH
 NOT SO MINOR AS TO CONSTITUTE A DEFENSE TO THE PROSECUTION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD02403-01-1

 S. 256                              2
 
   (C) AN ELIGIBLE YOUTH WHO HAS PREVIOUSLY APPLIED FOR CONVICTION  SEAL-
 ING  UNDER  SECTION  160.59  OF  THIS  CHAPTER, BUT WAS DENIED, SHALL BE
 PERMITTED TO REAPPLY FOR SUCH SEALING PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S256

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S256

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Sponsored By

Zellnor Myrie

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S256 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments