BILL NUMBER: S8111

SPONSOR: LANZA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the offenses committed by
a defendant in a criminal proceeding against court employees

This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of
the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Advisory
Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure.

It is currently a class E felony for an inmate or detainee in a correc-
tional facility or hospital to subject an employee of the facility to
the danger and degradation of having blood and other bodily fluids
directed at them by the inmate (PL§ 240.32).{1} We recommend adding a
new Penal Law provision that would afford protections to court officers
who, while working in a courthouse, are subject to similar offensive
conduct by a defendant charged with a criminal offense.

The existing statute protects correctional officers victimized by
inmates who throw their bodily fluids such as urine, excrement or blood
onto them. However, it only applies to "employees of a correctional
              

facility, the board of parole or the office of mental health, or a
probation department bureau or unit or a police officer." It does not
include court officers acting in their public safety role in the court-
house. Unfortunately, there have been numerous incidents where court
officers have been the target of attacks by defendants in courthouses
around the State, with little criminal consequences to the defendant
committing such offensive acts.

This measure would extend the protections now given corrections officers
to court officers by creating a new class E felony offense - aggravated
harassment of a court officer by an accused. To be convicted of this
offense, the accused would have to act with the intent to harass, annoy,
threaten or alarm a person whom he or she knows or reasonably should
know is a court officer. Also, the offense must take place within the
courthouse against a uniformed court officer. The measure is similar to
PL § 240.32 by identifying the noxious substance thrown, tossed or
expelled as "blood, seminal fluid, urine, feces, or the contents of a
toilet bowl." Finally, the measure also includes a conforming amendment
to PL § 70.06(3)(e) to provide that the sentence range for the crime
would be identical to the range applicable to the existing aggravated
harassment of an employee by an inmate.

This measure, which would have no meaningful fiscal impact on the State,
would take effect 90 days after it shall have become law.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None. New proposal.

{1} Penal Law section 240.32 provides as follows

An inmate or respondent is guilty of aggravated harassment of an employ-
ee by an inmate when, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm a
person in a facility whom he or she knows or reasonably should know to
be an employee of such facility or the board of parole or the office of
mental health, or a probation department, bureau or unit or a police
officer, he or she causes or attempts to cause such employee to come
into contact with blood, seminal fluid, urine, feces, or the contents of
a toilet bowl, by throwing, tossing or expelling such fluid or material.

For purposes of this section, "inmate" means an inmate or detainee in a
correctional facility, local correctional facility or a hospital, as
such term is defined in subdivision two of section four hundred of the
correction law. For purposes of this section, "respondent" means a juve-
nile in a secure facility operated and maintained by the office of chil-
dren and family services who is placed with or committed to the office
of children and family services. For purposes of this section, "facili-
ty" means a correctional facility or local correctional facility, hospi-
tal, as such term is defined in subdivision two of section four hundred
of the correction law, or a secure facility operated and maintained by
the office of children and family services.

Aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate is a class E felony.