•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 

A01809 Summary:

BILL NOA01809
 
SAME ASNo same as
 
SPONSORTenney (MS)
 
COSPNSRFinch, Hawley, Kolb, Palmesano
 
MLTSPNSRCrouch
 
Amd SS530.20, 530.30, 530.40, 530.45, 530.50 & 530.60, CP L
 
Authorizes and directs courts to deny orders of recognizance or bail where the defendant poses a risk of danger to the community.
Go to top

A01809 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1809
 
SPONSOR: Tenney (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to orders of bail or recognizance   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To allow courts to invoke preventive detention and not grant bail to any criminal defendant who poses a risk or danger to the community.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends section 530.20 of criminal procedure law which prescribes the securing order authority for actions pending in local criminal courts by denying courts the authority to release on recogni- zance or bail, a defendant who appears to pose a risk of danger to the community. Section 2 amends section 530.30 of criminal procedure law which provides authority for a superior court judge to grant recognizance or bail in felony cases where certain local criminal courts have no authority to prohibit such judge from ordering recognizance or bail unless it appears the defendant poses no risk of danger to the community. Section 3 amends section 530.40 of the criminal procedure law to prohib- it a court from ordering recognizance or bail when the defendant poses a risk of danger to the community when a criminal action is pending in superior court. Section 4 amends section 530.45 of the criminal procedure law regarding orders of recognizance or bail after conviction but before sentencing, to deny the court the authority to order such, when the defendant poses a risk of danger to the community. Section 5 amends section 530.50 of criminal procedure law pertaining to recognizance or bail authorization or denial pending the determination of an appeal to deny its granting if the defendant poses a risk of danger to the community. Section 6 amends section 530.60 of criminal procedure law relating to securing order review to deny the granting of recognizance or bail when the defendant poses a risk of danger to the community. Section 7 contains the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Neither the Constitution of the State of New York nor the Criminal Procedure Law confers an absolute right to bail in all cases. The former provides merely that "Excessive bail shall not be required" (art. I, section 5), the latter establishes criteria for determining when bail or recognizance is mandated, prohibited or discretionary (CPL 510.30, subd. 1; 530, subds.1,2). Risk or danger to the community is not one of the listed criteria, and hence courts have held it may not properly be considered by the court fixing bail in those cases. Unlike federal law, which sets out standards that permit a court to commit a defendant for preventive detention (deny bail) to reasonably assure the safety of the community (18 U.S.C. Section 3142), the sole objective to be considered when a New York court exercises discretion in granting bail is "the kind and degree of control or restriction that is necessary to secure   the principal's court attendance when required". For seven weeks in 2005, Level 3 sex offender, Joseph Duncan, sexually brutalized 8-year old Shasta Groene after allegedly murdering her 9-year old and 13 year-old brothers, her mother and her mother's boyfriend in Idaho. Earlier that year a Minnesota judge released Duncan on $15,000 bail after being charged with molesting a 6-year-old boy at a Minnesota school playground, aware of his history of sexual abuse and violence against children. Duncan subsequently jumped bail, fled the state and headed for Idaho. This legislation strikes at the core of one of the most serious threats to public safety today, the failure to recognize public safety as a criterion in deciding pre-trial and post-trial release matters by requiring the courts to deny bail when the defendant poses a risk of danger.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2006: A.9501, held in Codes; 2007-2008: A.2979, held in Codes; 2009-2010: A.7139, held in Codes; 2011-2012: held in Codes.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: Undetermined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
Go to top