Bill Text: NY A07051 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to assessing a defendant's mental fitness to proceed pro se in a criminal proceeding.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - referred to codes [A07051 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A07051-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7051
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    April 22, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  LAVINE -- (at request of the Office of Court
         Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
       AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to  assessing  a
         defendant's mental fitness to proceed pro se in a criminal proceeding
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new arti-
    2  cle 731 to read as follows:
    3                                 ARTICLE 731
    4        MENTAL DISEASE OR DEFECT EXCLUDING FITNESS TO PROCEED PRO SE
    5  SECTION 731.10 FITNESS TO PROCEED PRO SE; DEFINITIONS.
    6          731.15 FITNESS TO PROCEED PRO SE; ORDER OF EXAMINATION AND FIND-
    7                   INGS.
    8  S 731.10 FITNESS TO PROCEED PRO SE; DEFINITIONS.
    9    1. "PERSON INCAPACITATED TO PROCEED PRO SE" MEANS A DEFENDANT WHO AS A
   10  RESULT OF MENTAL DISEASE OR DEFECT  LACKS  CAPACITY  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE
   11  PROCEEDINGS  AGAINST HIM OR HER, OR TO KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTEL-
   12  LIGENTLY WAIVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO COUNSEL, OR TO APPRECIATE THE
   13  CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECISION TO PROCEED WITHOUT REPRESENTATION BY  COUN-
   14  SEL,  OR  TO  COMPREHEND THE RANGE OF APPLICABLE PUNISHMENTS OR TO CARRY
   15  OUT THE BASIC TASKS NEEDED TO PRESENT HIS OR HER OWN DEFENSE WITHOUT THE
   16  HELP OF COUNSEL.
   17    2. "PRO SE EXAMINATION REPORT" MEANS A REPORT MADE  BY  A  PSYCHIATRIC
   18  EXAMINER SETTING FORTH HIS OR HER OPINION AS TO WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS
   19  OR  IS  NOT  A  PERSON INCAPACITATED TO PROCEED PRO SE. THE REPORT SHALL
   20  INCLUDE THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE EXAMINATION AND,  IF  THE  EXAMINER
   21  FINDS  THAT THE DEFENDANT IS A PERSON INCAPACITATED TO PROCEED PRO SE, A
   22  DETAILED STATEMENT OF THE REASONS FOR  HIS  OR  HER  OPINION  BY  MAKING
   23  PARTICULAR  REFERENCE  TO THE DEFENDANT'S LACK OF CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND
   24  THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HIM OR HER OR THE DEFENDANT'S IMPAIRMENT,  TO  A
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09285-01-5
       A. 7051                             2
    1  SIGNIFICANT DEGREE, IN THE ABILITIES WHICH ARE NECESSARY FOR SELF-REPRE-
    2  SENTATION,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED TO THE ABILITY TO FORMULATE AND
    3  COMMUNICATE COHERENT THOUGHTS, TO MAKE DECISIONS IN A TRIAL CONTEXT,  TO
    4  WITHSTAND  THE  STRESS OF TRIAL, TO RELATE TO THE COURT OR A JURY AND TO
    5  COOPERATE WITH STANDBY COUNSEL IF ONE IS APPOINTED.
    6  S 731.15 FITNESS TO PROCEED PRO SE; ORDER OF EXAMINATION AND FINDINGS.
    7    NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FINDING OF FITNESS UNDER THIS ARTICLE, IF A CRIMI-
    8  NAL COURT HAS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT A DEFENDANT WHO ELECTS  TO  PROCEED
    9  PRO  SE MAY BE A PERSON INCAPACITATED TO PROCEED PRO SE, THE COURT SHALL
   10  ISSUE AN ORDER OF EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE IF THE DEFENDANT IS A  PERSON
   11  INCAPACITATED  TO  PROCEED  PRO SE. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS
   12  ARTICLE, THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 730.10, 730.20 AND  730.30  OF  THIS
   13  TITLE GOVERNING THE PROCEDURE FOR AN ORDER OF EXAMINATION SHALL APPLY TO
   14  THE PROCEDURE FOR AN ORDER OF EXAMINATION UNDER THIS SECTION.
   15    WHEN  A CRIMINAL COURT IS SATISFIED THAT THE DEFENDANT IS NOT A PERSON
   16  INCAPACITATED TO PROCEED PRO SE, THE CRIMINAL ACTION AGAINST THE DEFEND-
   17  ANT MUST PROCEED. IF IT IS SATISFIED THAT  THE  DEFENDANT  IS  A  PERSON
   18  INCAPACITATED  TO  PROCEED  PRO  SE, THE COURT MUST DENY THE DEFENDANT'S
   19  APPLICATION TO PROCEED PRO SE.
   20    S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
   21  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.