Bill Text: NY S05651 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that a motion for a defendant to be tried separately may be granted upon its own motion.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S05651 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S05651-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5651
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     May 31, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of the Office of Court
         Administration) -- 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 motions for a
         defendant to be tried separately
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The closing paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 200.40 of
    2  the  criminal  procedure  law,  as amended by chapter 516 of the laws of
    3  1986, is amended to read as follows:
    4    Even in such case, the court, UPON ITS OWN MOTION OR upon motion of  a
    5  defendant  or  the  people  made  within  the period provided by section
    6  255.20, may for good cause  shown  order  in  its  discretion  that  any
    7  defendant  be tried separately from the other or from one or more or all
    8  of the others. Good cause shall include, but not be limited to, a  find-
    9  ing  that a defendant or the people will be unduly prejudiced by a joint
   10  trial or, in the case of a prosecution involving a charge of  enterprise
   11  corruption, a finding that proof of one or more criminal acts alleged to
   12  have  been  committed by one defendant but not one or more of the others
   13  creates a likelihood that the jury may not be able to consider separate-
   14  ly the proof as it relates to each defendant, or in such a  case,  given
   15  the  scope  of  the pattern of criminal activity charged against all the
   16  defendants, a particular defendant's  comparatively  minor  role  in  it
   17  creates a likelihood of prejudice to him OR HER.  Upon such a finding of
   18  prejudice,  the  court  may order counts to be tried separately, grant a
   19  severance  of  defendants  or  provide  whatever  other  relief  justice
   20  requires.
   21    S  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
   22  criminal actions and proceedings commenced on or  after  such  effective
   23  date.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09844-01-3