BILL NUMBER: S5593

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the
detention of individuals in a county jail pending a first court appear-
ance in an off-hours arraignment part

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.

This measure would amend the Correction Law to authorize the pre-arr-
aignment detention of arrested individuals in a county jail facility,
when done as part of a plan for an off-hours arraignment part estab-
lished by the Chief Administrative Judge.

The United States Supreme Court and the New York State Court of Appeals
have unequivocally declared that the right to counsel attaches at an
accused's arraignment (Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S.  335 (1963);
Hurrell-Harring v. New York, 15 NY3d 8 (2010); see also CPL 17010(3),
180.20(3)). For decades, however, New York has struggled to meet this
critical obligation in many courts, especially in rural counties where
law enforcement frequently lacks the ability to detain an accused in a
              

local facility, and qualified attorneys for an immediate arraignment are
often unreachable or unavailable.

To their credit, New York's legislative, executive and judicial branches
have recognized the critical need to resolve this problem and have begun
to make the significant changes necessary to ensure indigent defendants
have access to counsel at first appearance. For instance, increased
indigent defense funding as part of the Hurrell-Hawing settlement and a
similar commitment to increase funding statewide over a five-year period
beginning in 2018 are significantly helping to address the problem.

Another critical initiative helping to alleviate the problem was added
in 2016, when the Legislature enacted laws authorizing the Chief Admin-
istrative Judge, after consultation with critical local stakeholders and
with the approval of the Administrative Board of the Courts, to estab-
lish county-wide off-hours arraignment parts in jurisdictions outside
New York City (L. 2016, c. 492). To date, eleven counties have developed
approved plans and are currently operating an off-hours arraignment
part. Where established, off-hours arraignment parts have been extremely
successful in ensuring defendants are afforded counsel at arraignments.

A defining feature of every county plan thus far has incorporated twice
daily arraignments in the off-hours part, thus ensuring that no defend-
ant will be held for more than 12 hours before being arraigned. However,
because most local law enforcement agencies lack the capability to
detain an arrested person in a local lock-up, the plans provide that
local law enforcement may bring him or her to the county jail facility
to be held until arraignment. Unfortunately, the authority for a county
jail to hold an arrestee before a securing order is issued requires
specific authorization under the Correction Law (see Correction Law §§
500-a, 500-c). Thus, each county that wants to establish an off-hours
arraignment part, must ask the Legislature to amend the Correction Law
to authorize pre-arraignment detention in its county jail facility. This
has proved cumbersome and slow as counties must individually draft
legislation and submit bills piecemeal to the Legislature for approval.

This measure would address the problem by allowing a county jail facili-
ty to accept pre-arraignment prisoners if done in connection with the
establishment of an off-hours arraignment part. The measure does not
mandate that the sheriff accept pre-arraignment prisoners and will have
no impact on those counties that have already secured legislative
authority for pre-arraignment detention of arrested individuals. The
measure is designed to relieve a county of the need to individually
petition the Legislature for pre-arraignment detention authority when
done as part of their approved plan for an off-hours arraignment part.

Section one of the measure adds a new subdivision 2-t to section 500-a
of the Correction Law authorizing a county jail to be used for pre-arr-
aignment detention when the person under arrest is being held for
arraignment in the off-hours arraignment part established by the Chief
Administrative Judge.

Section two adds a corresponding new subdivision twenty-five to section
500-c of the Correction Law and provides that the obligations of the
sheriff to pre-arraignment prisoners are that same as to any other pris-
oner committed to the custody of the sheriff.

This measure would take effect immediately.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None.New Proposal