Senate Bill S8247A

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 8247--A

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 17, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. FOLEY, LARKIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when  printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Rules -- committee
  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
  to said committee

AN ACT to amend the judiciary law,  in  relation  to  establishing  gang
  courts;  and  providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expira-
  tion thereof

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.   Findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares that
the growth of criminal gang activities  have  created  a  public  safety
crisis and social disorder in many communities across our state. To this
point, our system of justice has failed to successfully deter the spread
of  this  criminality.  Whether  it  is  the  distribution  and  sale of
controlled substances,  street  crime,  gun  violence,  prostitution  or
simply  the  climate of fear, intimidation, and disorder that poison our
neighborhoods, many afflicted localities appear to be  under  siege.  To
address  this  problem, the state should be flexible and seek integrated
ways of employing the resources of our  judicial  and  criminal  justice
system and other state and local entities.
  Based  on  the foregoing findings the legislature hereby declares that
the New York unified court system should be  empowered  to  establish  a
gang  court  pilot  program  within  available  appropriations,  to help
address these broad based issues. The legislature contemplates that  the
program  authorized  in this act may consist of two special gang courts,
one in the county of Orange and one in the county of  Suffolk,  to  hear
and determine gang related criminal cases, properly venued in compliance
with  the  criminal  procedure  law, from within each respective county,
commencing no later than January first, two thousand eleven and continu-
ing, at least, until January first, two thousand sixteen.
  The legislature  declares  that  the  resources  necessary  for  these
special  gang  parts  of  the  courts of Orange county and the courts of
Suffolk county can be made  available  only  through  a  combination  of
federal  funds from the law enforcement assistance administration of the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD17005-06-0

S. 8247--A                          2

United States department of justice, and state and local funds, services
and facilities.
  S  2. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new article 5-C to read
as follows:
                               ARTICLE 5-C
                        GANG COURT PILOT PROGRAM
SECTION 178.   SPECIAL GANG PARTS; ESTABLISHMENT.
        178-A. TRANSFER OF CASES TO SPECIAL GANG PARTS.
        178-B. PROCEDURE IN A SPECIAL GANG PART.
  S 178. SPECIAL GANG PARTS; ESTABLISHMENT. 1. THERE MAY BE  ESTABLISHED
IN  THE COURTS OF ORANGE COUNTY AND THE COURTS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY SPECIAL
GANG PARTS IN SUCH NUMBERS AND AT SUCH LOCATIONS AS SHALL BE  DESIGNATED
BY  THE  CHIEF  ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS, BY ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER, TO
EFFECTUATE THE PURPOSES OF  THIS  ARTICLE  SUBJECT  TO  AVAILABILITY  OF
ADEQUATE  FUNDING  WITHIN MONEY APPROPRIATED WITHIN A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR.
SUCH PARTS SHALL HEAR AND DETERMINE GANG RELATED CRIMINAL CASES ASSIGNED
THERETO FROM ANY COURT WITHIN SUCH COUNTIES.
  2. THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE COURTS, IN  CONSULTATION  WITH  ALL
APPROPRIATE  STATE  AND  COUNTY AGENCIES, MAY REQUEST THAT ALL CURRENTLY
AVAILABLE RESOURCES BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE SPECIAL  GANG  COURT  PARTS
AND  AUTHORIZE THESE SPECIAL PARTS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT NEW PROGRAMS
AS DEEMED NECESSARY TO FURTHER THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, "CRIMINAL GANG" IS DEFINED AS A GROUP OF
THREE OF MORE PERSONS WHO,  THROUGH  THE  ORGANIZATION,  FORMATION  AND,
ESTABLISHMENT  OF  AN  ASSEMBLAGE,  SHARE  A  COMMON IDENTITY AND, WHOSE
MEMBERS, AS A CORE UNDERTAKING OF THEIR GROUP, ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN CRIMI-
NAL CONDUCT IN VIOLATION OF THE PENAL LAW.
  S 178-A. TRANSFER OF CASES TO SPECIAL GANG PARTS. NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY
OTHER  PROVISION  OF  LAW,  UPON  OR  AFTER ARRAIGNMENT ON AN ACCUSATORY
INSTRUMENT CHARGING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE COMMITTED BY A MEMBER OF A CRIMI-
NAL GANG AS PART OF, OR IN THE COURSE OF  SUCH  ILLEGAL  ACTIVITIES  AND
CONDUCT  IN  WHICH SUCH GANG IS PURPORTEDLY ENGAGING FILED IN A CRIMINAL
COURT WITHIN ORANGE COUNTY OR WITHIN SUFFOLK COUNTY AND BEFORE ENTRY  OF
A PLEA OF GUILTY OR COMMENCEMENT OF TRIAL, SUCH COURT MAY ORDER THAT THE
ACCUSATORY  INSTRUMENT  AND ACTION BE ASSIGNED TO THE RESPECTIVE SPECIAL
GANG PART OF THE ORANGE COUNTY OR SUFFOLK COUNTY COURT SYSTEMS.
  S 178-B. PROCEDURE IN A SPECIAL GANG PART. THE TRIAL OF ANY ACCUSATORY
INSTRUMENT IN A SPECIAL GANG PART SHALL FOR ALL PURPOSES BE DEEMED TO BE
A TRIAL, LIKE ANY OTHER CRIMINAL PROCEEDING CONDUCTED IN  ORANGE  COUNTY
AND  SUFFOLK COUNTY RESPECTIVELY, IN WHICH THE ACCUSATORY INSTRUMENT WAS
FILED, BUT THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS MAY  PROMULGATE  RULES,
ORDERS  OR  REGULATIONS  TO  BE  APPLICABLE  TO  SUCH PARTS IN PLACE AND
INSTEAD OF THE RULES, ORDERS OR REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO COURTS IN  THE
COUNTY  WHERE  THE  INDICTMENT  WAS FILED. THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR SHALL
PROVIDE BY RULE, ORDER OR REGULATION FOR AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING MATTERS:
THE PROCEDURE OF THE PART; ITS AUXILIARY  SERVICES;  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF
JUDICIAL  PERSONNEL;  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF TERMS; AND TRANSMITTAL OF ALL
PAPERS IN THE ACTION, INCLUDING ALL UNDERTAKINGS FOR APPEARANCES OF  THE
DEFENDANT  AND  OF  THE  WITNESSES,  TO THE PART OF THE SUPREME COURT TO
WHICH THE ACTION HAS BEEN ASSIGNED CONSISTENT WITH THE  CRIMINAL  PROCE-
DURE LAW.
  S  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall expire and be
deemed repealed 5 years after such effective date.