NY State Senate Bill 2023-S2571

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families 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 03, 2024	referred to children and families
Jan 23, 2023	referred to children and families

co-Sponsors

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3558
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §812, Fam Ct Act
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9136, A10481

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Adds additional offenses where there is concurrent jurisdiction of criminal and family courts; defines "unreciprocated offensive contact".

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2571

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to concurrent juris-
diction of criminal and family courts

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To modernize the jurisdiction of family court while allowing for orders
of protection in an increased number of scenarios.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends subdivision one of section 812 of the Family Court
Act to add new offenses to the jurisdiction of family court while creat-
ing a new paragraph (f) to provide for instances of unreciprocated
offensive contact.

Section two sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In New York State's Unified Court System, each county and New York City
has a designated family court which hears cases involving children and
families as well as persons who have been in an "intimate relationship,"
which is defined by factors such as the nature and duration of the
relationship and frequency of interactions. "Casual acquaintance" and
"ordinary fraternization" between two individuals is explicitly placed
outside of the jurisdiction of family court under Section 812 of the
Family Court Act.

Section 812 also establishes a list of crimes for which family court and
criminal courts share jurisdiction, such as unlawful dissemination or
publication of an intimate image, harassment, identity theft, coercion,
stalking, and a range of other offenses, and establishes a pathway by
which victims either related to or at any time in an intimate relation-
ship with their perpetrator can obtain an order of protection for imme-
diate relief. The law fails to account, however, for the ways in which
technology has dramatically altered our lives and relationships. Not
only has the digital revolution enabled an entirely new type of criminal
behavior, such as revenge porn, "upskirting," or taking sexually intru-
sive photographs or videos without permission, online stalking, and
more, but it has also altered the way we discover and define new
relationships. Nowadays a young person may be just as likely to be
harmed by a jealous ex with whom they cohabitated, for example, as some-
one they've met through an online chat room or went on one date with via
an app. Furthermore, social media celebrities who attain worldwide fame
virtually overnight through channels such as TikTok, Instagram, and
YouTube may find themselves besieged by digital fans in a way that was
inconceivable,a generation ago.

This bill adds certain new crimes to the jurisdiction of family court
while establishing an additional circumstance for which relief may be
sought through the court. Under this bill a petitioner subject to a
pattern of "unreciprocated offensive contact" by a respondent may peti-
tion family court for an order of protection despite not being related
or at any point married to or sharing a child or intimate relationship
with the respondent. Unreciprocated offensive contact is broadly defined
but includes factors such as lack of consent, the volume and frequency
of unwanted communications, and their threatening or harassing nature.
This language in a new paragraph (f) aims to capture the new set of
criminal behaviors enabled by the Internet as well as the ways in which
it has anonymized relationships between perpetrators and their victims.
Furthermore, while orders of protection for many of the crimes overseen
by family court can also be obtained through criminal court, this
requires an arrest by law enforcement which is not guaranteed. Addi-
tionally, investigations and prosecutions through criminal court are
frequently too slow-moving for victims of cybercrimes or other behaviors
seeking immediate relief.

This bill, if passed, would allow family court to immediately mandate
that perpetrators of certain harassing behaviors cease all contact with
their victims without a prerequisite arrest. While many if not all of
the crimes listed in the Family Court Act involve some element of crimi-
nality and may be likely to be prosecuted, this bill allows victims to
petition a judge for immediate relief while a slower-moving prosecution
unfolds. The sponsor believes that placing this new set of behavioral
patterns under the jurisdiction of family court, which already has the
infrastructure and victims services in place to process such cases, is
the best way to protect victims of harassment in the digital age.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S9136 - Referred to Children and Families

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2571
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 23, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GOUNARDES,  FERNANDEZ  --  read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children
   and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to  concurrent  juris-
   diction of criminal and family courts

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 812 of the family  court  act,  as
 amended  by  chapter  326  of the laws of 2008, the opening paragraph as
 amended by chapter 109 of the laws  of  2019,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  Jurisdiction.  The family court and the criminal courts shall have
 concurrent jurisdiction over any proceeding concerning acts which  would
 constitute  disorderly conduct, unlawful dissemination or publication of
 an intimate image, UNLAWFUL SURVEILLANCE IN THE FIRST  DEGREE,  UNLAWFUL
 SURVEILLANCE  IN  THE  SECOND DEGREE, UNLAWFUL SURVEILLANCE IN THE THIRD
 DEGREE, DISSEMINATION OF UNLAWFUL  SURVEILLANCE  IN  THE  FIRST  DEGREE,
 DISSEMINATION  OF  UNLAWFUL  SURVEILLANCE IN THE SECOND DEGREE, CRIMINAL
 IMPERSONATION IN THE SECOND DEGREE, COMPUTER TRESPASS, UNAUTHORIZED  USE
 OF  A COMPUTER, harassment in the first degree, harassment in the second
 degree, aggravated harassment in the second degree,  sexual  misconduct,
 forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third degree, sexual abuse in the
 second  degree  as set forth in subdivision one of section 130.60 of the
 penal law, stalking in the first degree, stalking in the second  degree,
 stalking  in  the  third degree, stalking in the fourth degree, criminal
 mischief, menacing in the second degree, menacing in the  third  degree,
 reckless endangerment, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circu-
 lation,  strangulation  in the second degree, strangulation in the first
 degree, assault in the second degree, assault in the  third  degree,  an
 attempted assault, identity theft in the first degree, identity theft in
 the  second degree, identity theft in the third degree, grand larceny in
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06938-01-3

 S. 2571                             2
 
 the fourth degree, grand larceny in the third degree,  coercion  in  the
 second  degree  or coercion in the third degree as set forth in subdivi-
 sions one, two and three of section 135.60  of  the  penal  law  between
 spouses  or  former  spouses,  or  between  parent  and child or between
 members of the same family or household except that  if  the  respondent
 would not be criminally responsible by reason of age pursuant to section
 30.00  of  the  penal  law,  then  the family court shall have exclusive
 jurisdiction over such  proceeding.    Notwithstanding  a  complainant's
 election  to  proceed  in  family court, the criminal court shall not be
 divested of jurisdiction to hear a family offense proceeding pursuant to
 this section. In any proceeding pursuant to this article, a court  shall
 not  deny  an  order of protection, or dismiss a petition, solely on the
 basis that the acts or events alleged are not relatively contemporaneous
 with the date of the petition, the conclusion of the fact-finding or the
 conclusion of the dispositional hearing. For purposes of  this  article,
 "disorderly  conduct" includes disorderly conduct not in a public place.
 For purposes of this article, "members of the same family or  household"
 shall mean the following:
   (a) persons related by consanguinity or affinity;
   (b) persons legally married to one another;
   (c) persons formerly married to one another regardless of whether they
 still reside in the same household;
   (d)  persons  who  have  a  child in common regardless of whether such
 persons have been married or have lived together at any time; [and]
   (e) persons who are not related by consanguinity or affinity  and  who
 are  or have been in an intimate relationship regardless of whether such
 persons have lived together at any time. Factors the court may  consider
 in  determining  whether  a  relationship  is an "intimate relationship"
 include but are not limited to: the  nature  or  type  of  relationship,
 regardless of whether the relationship is sexual in nature; the frequen-
 cy of interaction between the persons; and the duration of the relation-
 ship.  Neither a casual acquaintance nor ordinary fraternization between
 two individuals in business  or  social  contexts  shall  be  deemed  to
 constitute an "intimate relationship"[.]; AND
   (F) PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELATED BY CONSANGUINITY, AFFINITY, OR INTIMA-
 CY  AND  WHO ARE OR HAVE BEEN PARTY TO UNRECIPROCATED OFFENSIVE CONTACT.
 "UNRECIPROCATED OFFENSIVE CONTACT" SHALL BE  DEFINED  AS  A  PATTERN  OF
 COMMUNICATION OR ACTIVITY WHEREIN ONE PERSON (THE RESPONDENT) IS ENGAGED
 IN PRIMARILY ONE-SIDED ASSAULTIVE OR THREATENING CONDUCT AND/OR A COURSE
 OF  REPEATED,  UNWELCOME  COMMUNICATION  AT OR ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON (THE
 PETITIONER). FACTORS THE COURT MAY CONSIDER IN  DETERMINING  WHETHER  AN
 ALLEGED OFFENDER IS ENGAGING IN UNRECIPROCATED OFFENSIVE CONTACT INCLUDE
 BUT  ARE  NOT  LIMITED  TO:  THE  EXTENT TO WHICH THE PETITIONER HAS NOT
 CONSENTED TO SUCH CONTACT, THE VOLUME AND FREQUENCY OF SUCH  CONTACT  BY
 THE  RESPONDENT,  THE COERCIVE, THREATENING, AND/OR HARASSING CONTENT OF
 ANY COMMUNICATIONS SENT BY THE RESPONDENT, AND  THE  SERIOUSNESS  AND/OR
 ONE-SIDEDNESS OF SUCH CONTACT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S2571

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S2571

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

co-Sponsors

Nathalia Fernandez

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments