Bill Text: NY A03563 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends numerous provisions of law regarding discovery procedure and requirements in criminal cases including provisions for discovery by defendant of arrest and complaint reports and discovery by the prosecutor; eliminates demand discovery; requires prosecutor to make available to defense within 15 days of arraignment materials and information and to make a good faith effort to ascertain existence of discoverable material; makes provisions on protective orders.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to codes [A03563 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A03563-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3563 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 27, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to discovery procedure and requirements and to repeal subdivision 1 of section 240.10, section 240.45 and section 240.80 of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 65.20 of the criminal procedure 2 law, as added by chapter 505 of the laws of 1985 and renumbered by chap- 3 ter 548 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 4 9. (a) Prior to the commencement of the hearing conducted pursuant to 5 subdivision five of this section, the district attorney shall, subject 6 to a protective order, comply with the provisions of subdivision [one] 7 two of section [240.45] 240.20 of this chapter as they concern any 8 witness whom the district attorney intends to call at the hearing and 9 the child witness. 10 (b) Before a defendant calls a witness at such hearing, he or she 11 must, subject to a protective order, comply with the provisions of 12 subdivision two of section [240.45] 240.30 of this chapter as they 13 concern all the witnesses the defendant intends to call at such hearing. 14 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 240.10 of the criminal procedure law is 15 REPEALED and subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 are renumbered subdivisions 1, 2 16 and 3. 17 § 3. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new section 18 240.15 to read as follows: 19 § 240.15 Discovery by defendant of arrest and complaint reports. 20 Upon arraignment, the prosecutor shall, subject to a protective order 21 pursuant to section 240.50 of this article, provide the defendant with a 22 copy of any law enforcement report describing the arrest and processing 23 of the defendant and any official law enforcement report by which a 24 crime is reported to the police. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03821-01-7A. 3563 2 1 § 4. The section heading and the opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of 2 section 240.20 of the criminal procedure law, the section heading as 3 added by chapter 412 of the laws of 1979 and the opening paragraph of 4 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 317 of the laws of 1983, are amended 5 to read as follows: 6 Discovery[; upon demand of] to the defendant. 7 Except to the extent protected by court order, [upon a demand to8produce by a defendant against whom] within fifteen days after arraign- 9 ment on an indictment, superior court information, prosecutor's informa- 10 tion, information, or simplified information charging a misdemeanor [is11pending], the prosecutor shall disclose to the defendant and make avail- 12 able for inspection, photographing, copying or testing, the following 13 property: 14 § 5. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 1 of section 240.20 of the criminal 15 procedure law, as added by chapter 412 of the laws of 1979 and as relet- 16 tered by chapter 795 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 17 (h) [Anything] Any other property or information required to be 18 disclosed, prior to trial, to the defendant by the prosecutor, pursuant 19 to the constitution of this state or of the United States. 20 § 6. Subdivision 1 of section 240.20 of the criminal procedure law is 21 amended by adding four new paragraphs (l), (m), (n) and (o) to read as 22 follows: 23 (l) A scientific report or tests which tend to negate the guilt of the 24 defendant. 25 (m) Information about a line-up, show-up or other identification 26 procedure or from a witness which indicates that someone other than the 27 defendant committed the crime. 28 (n) Information about a line-up, show-up or other identification 29 procedure at which an eyewitness failed to identify the defendant as the 30 perpetrator of the crime. 31 (o) Reports or interviews of any kind indicating that a person or 32 persons other than the defendant committed the crime. 33 § 7. Subdivision 2 of section 240.20 of the criminal procedure law is 34 renumbered subdivision 4 and three new subdivisions 2, 3 and 5 are added 35 to read as follows: 36 2. Within fifteen days of arraignment, the prosecutor shall, subject 37 to a protective order, make available to the defendant: 38 (a) Any written or recorded statement, including any testimony before 39 a grand jury and an examination videotaped pursuant to section 190.32 of 40 this chapter, made by a person whom the prosecutor intends to call as a 41 witness at trial, and which relates to the subject matter of the 42 witness's testimony. 43 (b) A record of judgment of conviction of a witness the people intend 44 to call at trial if the record of conviction is known by the prosecutor 45 to exist. 46 (c) The existence of any pending criminal action against a witness the 47 people intend to call at trial, if the pending criminal action is known 48 by the prosecutor to exist. 49 (d) Any promises or threats to, or agreements with, a witness the 50 prosecution intends to call at trial, if such promise, threat or agree- 51 ment is related to the witness's testimony and is known by the prose- 52 cution. 53 (e) The name, address and qualifications of any expert, other than an 54 expert governed by section 250.10 of this title, the people intend to 55 call as a witness at trial, as well as a written report by that witness 56 setting forth in reasonable detail the subject matter on which theA. 3563 3 1 expert is expected to testify including the witness's opinion and 2 conclusions, if any, as well as the basis for those opinions and conclu- 3 sions. 4 The provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision shall not 5 be construed to require the prosecutor to fingerprint a witness or 6 otherwise cause the division of criminal justice services or other law 7 enforcement agency or court to issue a report concerning a witness. 8 3. If after complying with the provisions of this section, any proper- 9 ty or information which is required to be disclosed comes into the 10 possession of the prosecution, the prosecution shall, subject to a 11 protective order, promptly disclose such property or information. 12 5. At the commencement of jury selection or in the case of a non-jury 13 trial, before submission of evidence, the prosecutor shall, subject to a 14 protective order, make available to the defense any written or recorded 15 statement made by a person whom the prosecutor intends to call at trial 16 and which relates to the subject matter of the witness's testimony, 17 including unredacted statements previously disclosed in redacted form. 18 § 8. Subdivision 4 of section 240.20 of the criminal procedure law, as 19 added by chapter 412 of the laws of 1979 and renumbered by section seven 20 of this act, is amended to read as follows: 21 4. The prosecutor shall make a diligent, good faith effort to ascer- 22 tain the existence of [demanded] any property subject to discovery and 23 to cause such property to be made available for discovery where it 24 exists but is not within the prosecutor's possession, custody or 25 control; provided, that the prosecutor shall not be required to obtain 26 by subpoena duces tecum [demanded] material which the defendant may 27 thereby obtain. 28 § 9. Section 240.30 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chapter 29 412 of the laws of 1979, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 558 of the 30 laws of 1982 and the opening paragraph of subdivision 1 as amended by 31 chapter 317 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows: 32 § 240.30 Discovery[; upon demand of] to the prosecutor. 33 1. Except to the extent protected by court order, upon [a demand to34produce] disclosure by the prosecutor pursuant to section 240.20 of this 35 article, a defendant against whom an indictment, superior court informa- 36 tion, prosecutor's information, information, or simplified information 37 charging a misdemeanor is pending shall disclose and make available for 38 inspection, photographing, copying or testing, subject to constitutional 39 limitations: 40 (a) any written report or document, or portion thereof, concerning a 41 physical or mental examination, or scientific test, experiment, or 42 comparisons, made by or at the request or direction of, the defendant, 43 if the defendant intends to introduce such report or document at trial, 44 or if the defendant has filed a notice of intent to proffer psychiatric 45 evidence and such report or document relates thereto, or if such report 46 or document was made by a person, other than defendant, whom defendant 47 intends to call as a witness at trial; and 48 (b) any photograph, drawing, tape or other electronic recording which 49 the defendant intends to introduce at trial. 50 2. At the commencement of jury selection, the defendant shall, subject 51 to a protective order, make available to the prosecutor: (a) any writ- 52 ten or recorded statement made by a person other than the defendant whom 53 the defendant intends to call as a witness at the trial, and which 54 relates to the subject matter of the witness's testimony, including 55 unredacted statements previously disclosed in a redacted form;A. 3563 4 1 (b) a record of judgment of conviction of a witness, other than the 2 defendant, the defendant intends to call at trial if the record of 3 conviction is known by the defendant to exist; 4 (c) the existence of any pending criminal action against a witness, 5 other than the defendant, the defendant intends to call at trial, if the 6 pending criminal action is known by the defendant to exist; 7 (d) any promises or threats to, or agreements with, a witness the 8 defense intends to call at trial, if such promise, threat or agreement 9 is related to the witness's testimony and is known by the calling party; 10 and 11 (e) the name, address, and qualifications of any expert, other than an 12 expert governed by section 250.10 of this title, the defense intends to 13 call as a witness at trial, as well as a written report by that witness 14 setting forth in reasonable detail the subject matter on which the 15 expert is expected to testify including the witness's opinion and 16 conclusions, if any, as well as the basis for those opinions and conclu- 17 sions. 18 3. The defense shall make a diligent good faith effort to make such 19 property available for discovery where it exists but the property is not 20 within its possession, custody or control, provided, that the defendant 21 shall not be required to obtain by subpoena duces tecum [demanded] mate- 22 rial that the prosecutor may thereby obtain. 23 § 10. Section 240.35 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chap- 24 ter 412 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows: 25 § 240.35 Discovery; refusal [of demand] to disclose. 26 Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 240.20 and 240.30 of this 27 article, the prosecutor or the defendant, as the case may be, may refuse 28 to disclose any information for which [he] that party reasonably 29 believes [is not discoverable by a demand to produce, pursuant to30section 240.20 or section 240.30 as the case may be, or for which he31reasonably believes] a protective order would be warranted. Such 32 refusal shall be made in a writing, which shall set forth the grounds of 33 such belief as fully as possible, consistent with the objective of the 34 refusal. The writing shall be served upon the [demanding] other party 35 and a copy shall be filed with the court. 36 § 11. Section 240.40 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chap- 37 ter 412 of the laws of 1979, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 19 of 38 the laws of 2012, the opening paragraph of subdivision 2 as amended by 39 chapter 317 of the laws of 1983 and the closing paragraph of subdivision 40 2 as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as 41 follows: 42 § 240.40 Discovery; upon court order. 43 1. Upon motion of a defendant against whom an indictment, superior 44 court information, prosecutor's information, information, or simplified 45 information charging a misdemeanor is pending, the court in which such 46 accusatory instrument is pending: 47 (a) must order discovery as to any material not disclosed [upon a48demand] pursuant to section 240.20 of this article, if it finds that 49 [the prosecutor's refusal to disclose such material is not justified] a 50 protective order should not be issued; (b) must, unless it is satisfied 51 that the people have shown good cause why such an order should [not] be 52 issued, order discovery or issue any other order authorized by subdivi- 53 sion one of section 240.70 of this article as to any material not 54 disclosed [upon demand] pursuant to section 240.20 of this article where 55 the prosecutor has failed to serve a timely written refusal pursuant to 56 section 240.35 of this article; (c) [may] must order discovery withA. 3563 5 1 respect to any other property, which the people intend to introduce at 2 the trial[, upon a showing by the defendant that discovery with respect3to such property is material to the preparation of his or her defense,4and that the request is reasonable]; and (d) where property in the 5 people's possession, custody, or control that consists of a deoxyribonu- 6 cleic acid ("DNA") profile obtained from probative biological material 7 gathered in connection with the investigation or prosecution of the 8 defendant and the defendant establishes that such profile complies with 9 federal bureau of investigation or state requirements, whichever are 10 applicable and as such requirements are applied to law enforcement agen- 11 cies seeking a keyboard search or similar comparison, and that the data 12 meets state DNA index system or national DNA index system criteria as 13 such criteria are applied to law enforcement agencies seeking such a 14 keyboard search or similar comparison, the court may order an entity 15 that has access to the combined DNA index system or its successor system 16 to compare such DNA profile against DNA databanks by keyboard searches, 17 or a similar method that does not involve uploading, upon notice to both 18 parties and the entity required to perform the search, upon a showing by 19 the defendant that such a comparison is material to the presentation of 20 his or her defense and that the request is reasonable. For purposes of 21 this paragraph, a "keyboard search" shall mean a search of a DNA profile 22 against the databank in which the profile that is searched is not 23 uploaded to or maintained in the databank. Upon granting the motion 24 pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the court shall, upon 25 motion of the people showing such to be material to the preparation of 26 their case [and that the request is reasonable], condition its order of 27 discovery by further directing discovery by the people of property, of 28 the same kind or character as that authorized to be inspected by the 29 defendant, which he or she intends to introduce at the trial. 30 2. Upon motion of the prosecutor, and subject to constitutional limi- 31 tation, the court in which an indictment, superior court information, 32 prosecutor's information, information, or simplified information charg- 33 ing a misdemeanor is pending: (a) must order discovery as to any prop- 34 erty not disclosed [upon a demand] pursuant to section 240.30 of this 35 article, if it finds that the defendant's refusal to disclose such mate- 36 rial is not justified; and (b) may order the defendant to provide non- 37 testimonial evidence. Such order may, among other things, require the 38 defendant to: 39 (i) Appear in a line-up; 40 (ii) Speak for identification by witness or potential witness; 41 (iii) Be fingerprinted; 42 (iv) Pose for photographs not involving reenactment of an event; 43 (v) Permit the taking of samples of blood, hair or other materials 44 from his or her body in a manner not involving an unreasonable intrusion 45 thereof or a risk of serious physical injury thereto; 46 (vi) Provide specimens of his or her handwriting; 47 (vii) Submit to a reasonable physical or medical inspection of his or 48 her body. 49 This subdivision shall not be construed to limit, expand, or otherwise 50 affect the issuance of a similar court order, as may be authorized by 51 law, before the filing of an accusatory instrument consistent with such 52 rights as the defendant may derive from the constitution of this state 53 or of the United States. This section shall not be construed to limit or 54 otherwise affect the [adminstration] administration of a chemical test 55 where otherwise authorized pursuant to section [one thousand one] eleven 56 hundred ninety-four-a of the vehicle and traffic law.A. 3563 6 1 3. An order pursuant to this section may be denied, limited or condi- 2 tioned as provided in section 240.50 of this article, otherwise author- 3 ized pursuant to section eleven hundred ninety-four of the vehicle and 4 traffic law. 5 § 12. Section 240.45 of the criminal procedure law is REPEALED. 6 § 13. Section 240.50 of the criminal procedure law is amended by 7 adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 8 1-a. The court in which the criminal action is pending may, upon 9 motion of either party for an order to redact the name and/or address of 10 a witness, issue a protective order denying, limiting, conditioning or 11 regulating discovery of the name and/or address of a witness pursuant to 12 this article for good cause, including substantial risk of physical 13 harm, intimidation, unjustified annoyance or embarrassment to the 14 witness or an adverse effect upon the legitimate needs of law enforce- 15 ment including the protection of the confidentiality of informants. 16 § 14. Section 240.60 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chap- 17 ter 412 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows: 18 § 240.60 Discovery; continuing duty to disclose. 19 If, after complying with the provisions of this article or an order 20 pursuant thereto, a party finds, either before or during trial, addi- 21 tional material subject to discovery or covered by such order, [he] that 22 party shall promptly comply with the [demand or] order, [refuse to23comply with the demand where refusal is authorized,] or apply for a 24 protective order. 25 § 15. Subdivision 1 of section 240.70 of the criminal procedure law, 26 as added by chapter 412 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 1. If, during the course of discovery proceedings, the court finds 29 that a party has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this 30 article, the court may order such party to permit discovery of the prop- 31 erty not previously disclosed, grant a continuance, issue a protective 32 order, prohibit the introduction of certain evidence or the calling of 33 certain witnesses, give an adverse inference instruction to the trier of 34 fact or take any other appropriate action. 35 § 16. Section 240.75 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chap- 36 ter 1 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 37 § 240.75 Discovery; certain violations. 38 The failure of the prosecutor or any agent of the prosecutor to 39 disclose statements that are required to be disclosed under subdivision 40 one of section 240.44 [or paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section41240.45] of this article shall not constitute grounds for any court to 42 order a new pre-trial hearing or set aside a conviction, or reverse, 43 modify or vacate a judgment of conviction in the absence of a showing by 44 the defendant that there is a reasonable possibility that the non-dis- 45 closure materially contributed to the result of the trial or other 46 proceeding; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall affect 47 or limit any right the defendant may have to a re-opened pre-trial hear- 48 ing when such statements were disclosed before the close of evidence at 49 trial. 50 § 17. Section 240.80 of the criminal procedure law is REPEALED. 51 § 18. Subdivision 2 of section 240.90 of the criminal procedure law, 52 as added by chapter 412 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as 53 follows: 54 2. [A] Within fifteen days after the prosecutor has disclosed to the 55 defendant property described in section 240.20 of this article, a motion 56 by a defendant for discovery shall be made as otherwise prescribed inA. 3563 7 1 section 255.20 of this [chapter] title. Such motion must state that 2 each item of property sought has not previously been disclosed to the 3 defendant. 4 § 19. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 14 of section 400.27 of the crimi- 5 nal procedure law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995, is amended 6 to read as follows: 7 (a) At a reasonable time prior to the sentencing proceeding or a 8 mental retardation hearing: 9 (i) the prosecutor shall, unless previously disclosed and subject to a 10 protective order, make available to the defendant the statements and 11 information specified in subdivision [one] two of section [240.45] 12 240.20 of this chapter and make available for inspection, photographing, 13 copying or testing the property specified in subdivision one of section 14 240.20 of this chapter; and 15 (ii) the defendant shall, unless previously disclosed and subject to a 16 protective order, make available to the prosecution the statements and 17 information specified in subdivision two of section [240.45] 240.30 of 18 this chapter and make available for inspection, photographing, copying 19 or testing, subject to constitutional limitations, the reports, docu- 20 ments and other property specified in subdivision one of section 240.30 21 of this chapter. 22 § 20. Subdivision 2 of section 710.30 of the criminal procedure law, 23 as separately amended by chapters 8 and 194 of the laws of 1976, is 24 amended to read as follows: 25 2. Such notice must be served within [fifteen] thirty days after 26 arraignment and before trial, and upon such service the defendant must 27 be accorded reasonable opportunity to move before trial, pursuant to 28 subdivision one of section 710.40 of this article, to suppress the spec- 29 ified evidence. For good cause shown, however, the court may permit the 30 people to serve such notice, thereafter and in such case it must accord 31 the defendant reasonable opportunity thereafter to make a suppression 32 motion. 33 § 21. This act shall take effect on the first of January next 34 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law, provided that 35 the amendment to subdivision 9 of section 65.20 of the criminal proce- 36 dure law, made by section one of this act, shall not affect the expira- 37 tion and repeal of such section and shall expire and be deemed repealed 38 therewith.