Senate Bill S1479

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1479

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the statute
of limitations in cases in which a DNA sample from a crime scene
cannot be matched to an individual in the state DNA identification
index


 PURPOSE :
This bill would provide for tolling of the statute of limitations in
criminal cases in which the identity of the defendant is established
by means of DNA evidence.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one would amend paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section
30.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law to toll the statute of limitations
in criminal cases in which the identity of the defendant is
established by means of DNA evidence.

Section two provides that the bill would take effect immediately,
provided, however, that the amendment to paragraph (a) of subdivision
4 of section 30.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law made by section one
would apply to offenses where the applicable period of limitation,
including any extension of such period of limitation pursuant to law
in effect before such effective date, has not expired on such
              

effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :
Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 30.10 of the Criminal
Procedure Law provides that in calculating the applicable period of
limitation, any period following the commission of the offense during
which the defendant was continuously outside this state or the
whereabouts of the defendant were continuously unknown and
continuously unascertainable by the exercise of reasonable diligence
shall not be included. The period of limitation may not be extended by
more than five years beyond the applicable period.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Statutes of limitation encourage law enforcement officials to promptly
investigate suspected criminal activity and protect individuals from
having to defend themselves against charges when the basic facts may
have become obscured by the passage of time. However, many criminal
prosecutions are thwarted, despite reasonable diligence by law
enforcement officials, by the perpetrator's efforts to avoid
identification.

DNA increasingly allows the perpetrators of crimes to be positively
ascertained many years after the crime was committed and the statute
of limitations has expired. This is particularly true as more
offenders have their DNA added to the State DNA Databank and are
thereafter linked to crimes they committed years before. Under such
circumstances, the policy considerations sought to be addressed by
statutes of limitations are no longer valid. In essence, the
underlying rationale behind a statute of limitations -- to guard
against potentially unreliable identification testimony offered by an
eyewitness whose memory has faded with the passage of time --
evaporates in the face of scientific evidence whose accuracy is not
diminished by the passage of time. In such instances, perpetrators of
crimes should not be allowed to use the statute of limitations as a
shield to protect them against prosecution for the crimes they have
committed.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2007/2008 - S.2374 - Passed Senate
Similar legislation was passed as part of S.5342 of 2006
 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately and applicable to offenses where the applicable period of
limitation, including any extension of such period of limitation
pursuant to law in effect before such effective date, has not expired
on such effective date.