Senate Bill S1246

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1246

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to requiring
evidence of identification by photographic videotape


 PURPOSE :
This bill provides that procedures for photographic identification of
a defendant in a criminal case be videotaped for .the identification
to be used in evidence

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Amends Section 1 of the criminal procedure law by adding a new section
section 60.27 by adding a subdivision that includes the following,
Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, in
any circumstance where evidence of an identification of a defendant by
photographic array would be otherwise admissible in evidence, such
identification shall not be admissible in evidence unless proof of the
procedures used in the identification is introduced by videotape
evidence of such procedures.

 JUSTIFICATION :
There has been a major shift in criminal justice legislation over the
past decade, in large part due to the phenomenon of DNA exonerations
and innocent people being freed from death row. It is clear that
              

wrongful convictions have played, and will continue to play, a
significant role in reforming the criminal justice system. According
to statistics provided by the Innocence Project of New York, who has
successfully corrected 143 wrongful convictions through DNA and
supplemental evidence, the number one most common factor in the first
70 DNA exonerations was mistaken identity.

Currently, photo arrays (a display of six numbered photographs of
different people with similar features) are shown to the witness of a
crime who is then asked to identify the person responsible for the
crime" These photo arrays are sometimes presented to witnesses in
places where there is no judicial oversight or defense, i.e., a
witness's home, place of business or even employment. It has been
found that in some situations, detectives conducting the photo array
have made suggestion as to who the suspect is by subtle suggestion,
body language or a line of questioning that leads the witness directly
to the "preferred" suspect in the photo array. video or audio taping
of the photo array process will help protect the innocent and enhance
the integrity of the process itself.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
A.11742 of 2003-04

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law and shall apply to any criminal action commenced after
such date.