NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3055A
SPONSOR: Aubry (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to time limits for a speedy trial
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill amends section 30.30 of the Criminal Penal Law to ensure cases
go to trial in a reasonable timeframe.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Establishes that this act shall be known as "Kalief's Law"
Section 2: Section 30.30 of the Criminal Procedure Law is amended by:
*Allowing the court, whenever a prosecutor states the people are ready
for trial, to make an inquiry as to the people's actual readiness. If,
after conducting its inquiry, the court determines the people are not
ready, the statement or notice of readiness shall not be valid.
*Requiring a statement of trial readiness be accompanied or preceded by
a certification of good faith compliance with the disclosure require-
ments set forth in section 240.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law.
*Requiring that exclusions to the computation of time, when a statement
of unreadiness has followed a statement of readiness made by the People,
be accompanied by supporting facts and approved by the court. The court
shall inquire on the record as to the reasons for the people's unread-
iness.
*Requiring that at each court, appearance date preceding the commence-
ment of trial in a criminal action, the court, whenever it is practica-
ble to so, shall rule on whether the adjournment period immediately
following the court appearance date is to be included or excluded for
the purposes of computing time within which the people must be ready for
trial.
*Clarifying that for purposes of subdivision two of Section 30.30 of the
Criminal Procedure Law, no time attributable to court congestion shall
be excluded.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Kalief Browder spent three years jailed at Rikers Island, on a charge
for which he was never tried or convicted. He was released in March
2013, having spent more than 700 days in solitary confinement. On June
6, 2015, Kalief committed suicide, a final and permanent indictment of
New York's "speedy trial" statute.
In May 2010, 16-year-old Kalief Browder was arrested for stealing a
backpack. While awaiting the basic American right of a speedy trial,
Kalief had 31 court dates during his three years in jail, despite New
York's so-called "speedy trial" statute, which says that the People must
be ready for trial within six months for felony charges; 90 days for
Class A Misdemeanors; 60 days for Class B Misdemeanors; and 30 days for
violations.
Unfortunately, this case is not unique. According to a 2013 WNYC story,
in 2013, about 1,500 people had been in NYC jails for more than a year
awaiting trial. Another 2013 report found that 8,063 felony cases had
been pending more than six months. And a 2013 New York Times article
stated that in 2011 there were 141 pending cases in which the defendant
was in jail three or more years citywide. Another 2013 New York Times
article reported that in the Bronx, where Browder was arrested, the
median length of a case from arrest to disposition was 517 days, and
more than 70 percent of felony cases surpassed New York's "speedy
trials" guidelines. According to a 2013 WNYC story, in 2010, nearly 100
defendants spent more than a year in jail but were never convicted of a
crime.
Under current statute, prosecutors are allowed to declare readiness for
trial by simply stating they are ready. At the very next court date, the
People can declare themselves "not ready" and ask for an adjournment.
Yet, even though it may take multiple weeks to get a court date, the
prosecution is only clocked for the adjournment period it requested. As
a 2014 New Yorker article pointed out, "Every time a prosecutor stood
before a judge in Browder's case, requested a one-week adjournment, and
got six weeks instead, this counted as only one week against the six-
month deadline."
Kalief's Law will reduce undue delay by requiring the court to approve
exclusions when a statement of unreadiness has followed a statement of
readiness, and having the court rule on the number of days that should
be included for speedy trial purposes. Kalief's Law will ensure that a
statement of "readiness" is real by tying it to discovery requirements,
requiring the People to possess evidence that they are in fact "ready"
for trial while allowing for flexibility when the facts merit additional
time. According to a 2014 New York Law Journal article, "A solution to
the intertwined problems of extended pretrial incarceration and discov-
ery delay is to reunite the concepts of trial readiness and discovery
compliance."
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.8296-A was referred to codes in 2015 and 2016.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3055--A
Cal. No. 40
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 25, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. AUBRY, PERRY, ARROYO, BARRON, BLAKE, COOK, CRES-
PO, DAVILA, KIM, PICHARDO, PRETLOW, RICHARDSON, BICHOTTE, GOTTFRIED,
SEPULVEDA, OTIS, JEAN-PIERRE, SKARTADOS, JOYNER, ROSENTHAL, MOSLEY,
PEOPLES-STOKES, ROZIC, KAVANAGH, RODRIGUEZ, HYNDMAN, HARRIS -- Multi-
Sponsored by -- M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, FARRELL, RAMOS, SIMON -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported from commit-
tee, advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted,
retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to time limits
for a speedy trial
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Kalief's law".
2 § 2. Section 30.30 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chapter
3 184 of the laws of 1972, paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 as amended by
4 chapter 93 of the laws of 2006, paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 as
5 amended by chapter 558 of the laws of 1982, paragraph (c) of subdivision
6 4 as amended by chapter 631 of the laws of 1996, paragraph (h) of subdi-
7 vision 4 as added by chapter 837 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (i) of
8 subdivision 4 as added by chapter 446 of the laws of 1993, paragraph (j)
9 of subdivision 4 as added by chapter 222 of the laws of 1994, paragraph
10 (b) of subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 109 of the laws of 1982,
11 paragraphs (e) and (f) of subdivision 5 as added by chapter 209 of the
12 laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
13 § 30.30 Speedy trial; time limitations.
14 1. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision [three] four, a motion
15 made pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section 170.30 or
16 paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section 210.20 must be granted where
17 the people are not ready for trial within:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07703-08-7
A. 3055--A 2
1 (a) six months of the commencement of a criminal action wherein a
2 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a
3 felony;
4 (b) ninety days of the commencement of a criminal action wherein a
5 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a
6 misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of more than three
7 months and none of which is a felony;
8 (c) sixty days of the commencement of a criminal action wherein the
9 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a
10 misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not more than
11 three months and none of which is a crime punishable by a sentence of
12 imprisonment of more than three months;
13 (d) thirty days of the commencement of a criminal action wherein the
14 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a
15 violation and none of which is a crime.
16 2. Except as provided in subdivision [three] four, where a defendant
17 has been committed to the custody of the sheriff in a criminal action he
18 must be released on bail or on his own recognizance, upon such condi-
19 tions as may be just and reasonable, if the people are not ready for
20 trial in that criminal action within:
21 (a) ninety days from the commencement of his commitment to the custody
22 of the sheriff in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of
23 one or more offenses, at least one of which is a felony;
24 (b) thirty days from the commencement of his commitment to the custody
25 of the sheriff in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of
26 one or more offenses, at least one of which is a misdemeanor punishable
27 by a sentence of imprisonment of more than three months and none of
28 which is a felony;
29 (c) fifteen days from the commencement of his commitment to the custo-
30 dy of the sheriff in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused
31 of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a misdemeanor punisha-
32 ble by a sentence of imprisonment of not more than three months and none
33 of which is a crime punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of more
34 than three months;
35 (d) five days from the commencement of his commitment to the custody
36 of the sheriff in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of
37 one or more offenses, at least one of which is a violation and none of
38 which is a crime.
39 3. Whenever pursuant to this section a prosecutor states or otherwise
40 provides notice that the people are ready for trial, the court may make
41 inquiry on the record as to their actual readiness. If, after conducting
42 its inquiry, the court determines that the people are not ready to
43 proceed to trial, the prosecutor's statement or notice of readiness
44 shall not be valid for purposes of this section. Following a demand to
45 produce by a defendant pursuant to section 240.20, any statement of
46 trial readiness must be accompanied or preceded by a certification of
47 good faith compliance with the disclosure requirements of section
48 240.20. This subdivision shall not apply to cases where the defense has
49 waived disclosure requirements. The defense shall be afforded an oppor-
50 tunity to be heard on the record concerning any such inquiry by the
51 court, and concerning whether such disclosure requirements have been
52 met.
53 3-a. Upon a misdemeanor complaint, a statement of readiness shall not
54 be valid unless the prosecuting attorney certifies that all counts
55 charged in the accusatory instrument meet the requirements of sections
A. 3055--A 3
1 100.15 and 100.40 and those counts not meeting the requirements of
2 sections 100.15 and 100.40 have been dismissed.
3 4. (a) Subdivisions one and two do not apply to a criminal action
4 wherein the defendant is accused of an offense defined in sections
5 125.10, 125.15, 125.20, 125.25, 125.26 and 125.27 of the penal law.
6 (b) A motion made pursuant to subdivisions one or two upon expiration
7 of the specified period may be denied where the people are not ready for
8 trial if the people were ready for trial prior to the expiration of the
9 specified period and their present unreadiness is due to some excep-
10 tional fact or circumstance, including, but not limited to, the sudden
11 unavailability of evidence material to the people's case, when the
12 district attorney has exercised due diligence to obtain such evidence
13 and there are reasonable grounds to believe that such evidence will
14 become available in a reasonable period.
15 (c) A motion made pursuant to subdivision two shall not:
16 (i) apply to any defendant who is serving a term of imprisonment for
17 another offense;
18 (ii) require the release from custody of any defendant who is also
19 being held in custody pending trial of another criminal charge as to
20 which the applicable period has not yet elapsed;
21 (iii) prevent the redetention of or otherwise apply to any defendant
22 who, after being released from custody pursuant to this section or
23 otherwise, is charged with another crime or violates the conditions on
24 which he has been released, by failing to appear at a judicial proceed-
25 ing at which his presence is required or otherwise.
26 [4.] 5. In computing the time within which the people must be ready
27 for trial pursuant to subdivisions one and two, the following periods
28 must be excluded:
29 (a) a reasonable period of delay resulting from other proceedings
30 concerning the defendant, including but not limited to: proceedings for
31 the determination of competency and the period during which defendant is
32 incompetent to stand trial; demand to produce; request for a bill of
33 particulars; pre-trial motions; appeals; trial of other charges; and the
34 period during which such matters are under consideration by the court;
35 or
36 (b) the period of delay resulting from a continuance granted by the
37 court at the request of, or with the consent of, the defendant or his or
38 her counsel. The court [must] may grant such a continuance only if it is
39 satisfied that postponement is in the interest of justice, taking into
40 account the public interest in the prompt dispositions of criminal
41 charges. A defendant without counsel must not be deemed to have
42 consented to a continuance unless he has been advised by the court of
43 his or her rights under these rules and the effect of his consent, which
44 must be done on the record in open court; or
45 (c) (i) the period of delay resulting from the absence or unavailabil-
46 ity of the defendant. A defendant must be considered absent whenever his
47 location is unknown and he is attempting to avoid apprehension or prose-
48 cution, or his location cannot be determined by due diligence. A defend-
49 ant must be considered unavailable whenever his location is known but
50 his presence for trial cannot be obtained by due diligence; or
51 (ii) where the defendant has either escaped from custody or has failed
52 to appear when required after having previously been released on bail or
53 on his own recognizance, and provided the defendant is not in custody on
54 another matter, the period extending from the day the court issues a
55 bench warrant pursuant to section 530.70 because of the defendant's
56 failure to appear in court when required, to the day the defendant
A. 3055--A 4
1 subsequently appears in the court pursuant to a bench warrant or volun-
2 tarily or otherwise; or
3 (d) a reasonable period of delay when the defendant is joined for
4 trial with a co-defendant as to whom the time for trial pursuant to this
5 section has not run and good cause is not shown for granting a sever-
6 ance; or
7 (e) the period of delay resulting from detention of the defendant in
8 another jurisdiction provided the district attorney is aware of such
9 detention and has been diligent and has made reasonable efforts to
10 obtain the presence of the defendant for trial; or
11 (f) the period during which the defendant is without counsel through
12 no fault of the court; except when the defendant is proceeding as his
13 own attorney with the permission of the court; or
14 (g) other periods of delay occasioned by exceptional circumstances,
15 including but not limited to, the period of delay resulting from a
16 continuance granted at the request of a district attorney if (i) the
17 continuance is granted because of the unavailability of evidence materi-
18 al to the people's case, when the district attorney has exercised due
19 diligence to obtain such evidence and there are reasonable grounds to
20 believe that such evidence will become available in a reasonable period;
21 or (ii) the continuance is granted to allow the district attorney addi-
22 tional time to prepare the people's case and additional time is justi-
23 fied by the exceptional circumstances of the case. Any such exclusion
24 when a statement of unreadiness has followed a statement of readiness
25 made by the people must be accompanied by supporting facts and approved
26 by the court. The court shall inquire on the record as to the reasons
27 for the people's unreadiness; or
28 (h) the period during which an action has been adjourned in contem-
29 plation of dismissal pursuant to sections 170.55, 170.56 and 215.10 of
30 this chapter[.]; or
31 (i) [The] the period prior to the defendant's actual appearance for
32 arraignment in a situation in which the defendant has been directed to
33 appear by the district attorney pursuant to subdivision three of section
34 120.20 or subdivision three of section 210.10[.]; or
35 (j) the period during which a family offense is before a family court
36 until such time as an accusatory instrument or indictment is filed
37 against the defendant alleging a crime constituting a family offense, as
38 such term is defined in section 530.11 of this chapter.
39 6. At each court appearance date preceding the commencement of trial
40 in a criminal action, the court, whenever it is practicable to do so,
41 shall rule preliminarily on whether the adjournment period immediately
42 following such court appearance date is to be included or excluded for
43 the purposes of computing the time within which the people must be ready
44 for trial within the meaning of this section. The court's ruling shall
45 be noted in the court file.
46 7. In computing the time within which the people must be ready for
47 trial, pursuant to subdivision two or paragraphs (b), (c), or (d) of
48 subdivision one of this section, no time attributable to court
49 congestion shall be excluded.
50 [5.] 8. For purposes of this section, (a) where the defendant is to be
51 tried following the withdrawal of the plea of guilty or is to be retried
52 following a mistrial, an order for a new trial or an appeal or collat-
53 eral attack, the criminal action and the commitment to the custody of
54 the sheriff, if any, must be deemed to have commenced on the date the
55 withdrawal of the plea of guilty or the date the order occasioning a
56 retrial becomes final;
A. 3055--A 5
1 (b) where a defendant has been served with an appearance ticket, the
2 criminal action must be deemed to have commenced on the date the defend-
3 ant first appears in a local criminal court in response to the ticket;
4 (c) where a criminal action is commenced by the filing of a felony
5 complaint, and thereafter, in the course of the same criminal action
6 either the felony complaint is replaced with or converted to an informa-
7 tion, prosecutor's information or misdemeanor complaint pursuant to
8 article [180] one hundred eighty or a prosecutor's information is filed
9 pursuant to section 190.70, the period applicable for the purposes of
10 subdivision one must be the period applicable to the charges in the new
11 accusatory instrument, calculated from the date of the filing of such
12 new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that when the aggregate of
13 such period and the period of time, excluding the periods provided in
14 subdivision [four] five, already elapsed from the date of the filing of
15 the felony complaint to the date of the filing of the new accusatory
16 instrument exceeds six months, the period applicable to the charges in
17 the felony complaint must remain applicable and continue as if the new
18 accusatory instrument had not been filed;
19 (d) where a criminal action is commenced by the filing of a felony
20 complaint, and thereafter, in the course of the same criminal action
21 either the felony complaint is replaced with or converted to an informa-
22 tion, prosecutor's information or misdemeanor complaint pursuant to
23 article [180] one hundred eighty or a prosecutor's information is filed
24 pursuant to section 190.70, the period applicable for the purposes of
25 subdivision two must be the period applicable to the charges in the new
26 accusatory instrument, calculated from the date of the filing of such
27 new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that when the aggregate of
28 such period and the period of time, excluding the periods provided in
29 subdivision [four] five, already elapsed from the date of the filing of
30 the felony complaint to the date of the filing of the new accusatory
31 instrument exceeds ninety days, the period applicable to the charges in
32 the felony complaint must remain applicable and continue as if the new
33 accusatory instrument had not been filed.
34 (e) where a count of an indictment is reduced to charge only a misde-
35 meanor or petty offense and a reduced indictment or a prosecutor's
36 information is filed pursuant to subdivisions one-a and six of section
37 210.20, the period applicable for the purposes of subdivision one of
38 this section must be the period applicable to the charges in the new
39 accusatory instrument, calculated from the date of the filing of such
40 new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that when the aggregate of
41 such period and the period of time, excluding the periods provided in
42 subdivision [four] five of this section, already elapsed from the date
43 of the filing of the indictment to the date of the filing of the new
44 accusatory instrument exceeds six months, the period applicable to the
45 charges in the indictment must remain applicable and continue as if the
46 new accusatory instrument had not been filed;
47 (f) where a count of an indictment is reduced to charge only a misde-
48 meanor or petty offense and a reduced indictment or a prosecutor's
49 information is filed pursuant to subdivisions one-a and six of section
50 210.20, the period applicable for the purposes of subdivision two of
51 this section must be the period applicable to the charges in the new
52 accusatory instrument, calculated from the date of the filing of such
53 new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that when the aggregate of
54 such period and the period of time, excluding the periods provided in
55 subdivision [four] five of this section, already elapsed from the date
56 of the filing of the indictment to the date of the filing of the new
A. 3055--A 6
1 accusatory instrument exceeds ninety days, the period applicable to the
2 charges in the indictment must remain applicable and continue as if the
3 new accusatory instrument had not been filed.
4 [6.] 9. The procedural rules prescribed in subdivisions one through
5 seven of section 210.45 with respect to a motion to dismiss an indict-
6 ment are also applicable to a motion made pursuant to subdivision two.
7 § 3. Subdivision 6 of section 180.85 of the criminal procedure law, as
8 added by chapter 518 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
9 6. The period from the filing of a motion pursuant to this section
10 until entry of an order disposing of such motion shall not, by reason of
11 such motion, be considered a period of delay for purposes of subdivision
12 [four] five of section 30.30, nor shall such period, by reason of such
13 motion, be excluded in computing the time within which the people must
14 be ready for trial pursuant to such section 30.30.
15 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
16 have become a law.