NY State Senate Bill 2023-S4756

Senate Bill S4756

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to confidentiality of records in proceedings to vacate convictions for offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor trafficking and compelling prostitution

download bill text pdf

Current 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 03, 2024	referred to codes
Feb 14, 2023	referred to codes

2023-S4756 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §440.10, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S4997
2019-2020: S3181
2021-2022: S6165

2023-S4756 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for confidentiality of records in proceedings to vacate convictions for offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor trafficking and compelling prostitution.

2023-S4756 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4756

SPONSOR: LANZA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to vacating
convictions for offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor traffick-
ing and compelling prostitution

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To strengthen protections for victims of sex trafficking, labor traf-
ficking, compelling prostitution and trafficking in persons, who are
convicted of a range of offenses as a result of that trafficking or
compelling.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 sets forth legislative intent, stressing that granting relief
would be based on consideration of the circumstances and the interest of
justice.

Section 2 amends CPL 440.10(1)(1) to allow vacating of a conviction
where the offense was a result of sex trafficking, labor trafficking,
compelling prostitution and trafficking in persons; CPL 440.10(1)(ii) to
include documentation with regard to labor trafficking and aggravated
labor trafficking as additional grounds for a presumption that a victim
was a victim of trafficking; adds new CPLS 440.10(1)(iii) to provide
confidentiality for motions to vacate a judgement; and adds new CPL
440.10(1) (iv) to provide that the relief would be based on consider-
ation of the circumstances and the interest of justice. Current law only
applies to a motion to vacate a conviction for several prostitution-re-
lated offenses.

Section 3 provides an immediate effective date, except that new subpara-
graph (iii) takes effect 60 days after enactment into law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2010, New York State passed an historic law allowing victims of human
trafficking to vacate prostitution-related criminal convictions that
were directly tied to their victimization. The law recognized that these
convictions should be vacated, because the conviction itself was unjust.
Victims of human trafficking were allowed a second chance at life, free
from the criminal records forced upon them by their trafficker. Twenty
seven states have since followed New York's example with similar laws.

Several states have gone beyond New York's law, to make this relief
available not just for prostitution-related offenses but for all
offenses. This bill follows that example. Trafficking victims may be
arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses resulting from the
trafficking. For example, possessing false documents, usually at the
direction of their trafficker, who has confiscated their true documents
as part of the exerted coercion. The CPL is further amended to protect
the confidentiality of information contained in motions brought under
the statute. This explicit and mandatory protection is necessary to meet
the legislation's goals of severing victims of human trafficking from
their traumatic past, and to ensure that victims of human trafficking
will not be endangered by the process of vacating their convictions.
Courts may also take other action, such as offering a closed courtroom
for court appearances. The bill stresses - both in legislative intent
and in explicit statutory language - that the granting of a motion for
this relief is to be decided by the court based on consideration of the
circumstances and in the interest of justice.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S.6165-Referred to Codes

2021: S.6165-Referred to Codes

2020: S.3181-Referred to Codes

2019: S.3181-Referred to Codes

2018: S.4997-Third Reading Calendar/A.4540- Passed Assembly

2017: S.4997-Third Reading Calendar/A.4540- Passed Assembly

2016: A.10353- Referred to Codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S4756 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4756
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 14, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- 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  vacating
   convictions  for  offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor traf-
   ficking and compelling prostitution

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative intent. The purpose of this legislation is to
 strengthen protection for the victims of sex  trafficking,  labor  traf-
 ficking,  compelling  prostitution  and  trafficking in persons, who are
 convicted of a range of offenses as a  result  of  that  trafficking  or
 compelling. New York's landmark law offering the vacating of convictions
 for prostitution-related offenses that were a result of this trafficking
 has  been  the  model for laws in more than half of the states. However,
 several states wisely offer this relief to victims who may be  compelled
 to  participate in other offenses as well. This legislation would follow
 that example. Granting relief under this provision has always been based
 on consideration of the circumstances and the interest of justice;  this
 legislation reiterates that.
   §  2. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 1 of section 440.10 of the criminal
 procedure law, as amended by chapter 629 of the laws of 2021, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (i) The judgment is a conviction where the  defendant's  participation
 in  the  offense was a result of having been a victim of sex trafficking
 under section 230.34 of the penal law, sex trafficking of a child  under
 section  230.34-a  of  the  penal  law,  labor trafficking under section
 135.35 of the penal law,  aggravated  labor  trafficking  under  section
 135.37 of the penal law, compelling prostitution under section 230.33 of
 the  penal  law, or trafficking in persons under the Trafficking Victims
 Protection Act (United States Code, title 22, chapter 78); provided that

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08744-01-3
 S. 4756                             2

 
   (i) official documentation of the defendant's status as  a  victim  of
 sex   trafficking,  labor  trafficking,  aggravated  labor  trafficking,
 compelling prostitution, or trafficking in persons at the  time  of  the
 offense  from a federal, state or local government agency shall create a
 presumption  that  the  defendant's  participation  in the offense was a
 result of having been a victim of sex  trafficking,  labor  trafficking,
 aggravated  labor trafficking, compelling prostitution or trafficking in
 persons, but shall not be required for  granting  a  motion  under  this
 paragraph;
   (ii) a motion under this paragraph, and all pertinent papers and docu-
 ments, shall be confidential and may not be made available to any person
 or  public or private entity except where specifically authorized by the
 court; [and]
   (iii) when a motion is filed under this paragraph, the court may, upon
 the consent of the petitioner and all of the state and local  prosecuto-
 rial agencies that prosecuted each matter, consolidate into one proceed-
 ing  a motion to vacate judgments imposed by distinct or multiple crimi-
 nal courts; AND
   (IV) THE GRANTING OF A MOTION UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE DETERMINED
 BY THE COURT IN CONSIDERATION OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE  INTEREST  OF
 JUSTICE; or
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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