NY State Senate Bill S6533

Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed by Governor

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Actions

view actions (21)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Nov 27, 2020	signed chap.299
Nov 18, 2020	delivered to governor
Jul 21, 2020	returned to senate passed assembly ordered to third reading cal.300 substituted for a7970
Mar 11, 2020	referred to ways and means delivered to assembly passed senate
Feb 27, 2020	advanced to third reading
Feb 26, 2020	2nd report cal.
Feb 25, 2020	1st report cal.476
Feb 04, 2020	reported and committed to finance
Jan 08, 2020	referred to children and families returned to senate died in assembly
Jun 19, 2019	referred to ways and means delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.1734
Jun 15, 2019	referred to rules

Votes

view votes

Mar 11, 2020 - floor Vote

S6533

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

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Feb 25, 2020 - Finance committee Vote

S6533

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Feb 4, 2020 - Children and Families committee Vote

S6533

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

show Children and Families committee vote details

Children and Families Committee Vote: Feb 4, 2020

aye (5)

nay (1)

Tedisco

aye wr (1)

Serino

Jun 19, 2019 - floor Vote

S6533

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Jun 19, 2019 - Rules committee Vote

S6533

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7970
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §§305.2 & 344.2, Fam Ct Act

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to requiring the video recording of interrogations of juveniles in juvenile delinquency proceedings in family court.

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S6533

SPONSOR: MONTGOMERY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the family court act, in relation to
video recording of interrogations of juveniles in juvenile delinquency
proceedings in family court

This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of
the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Family
Court Advisory and Rules Committee.

Enactment of a requirement for video recording interrogations of
suspects in certain cases, both adult and juvenile, as part of the FY
2017-2018 budget was a major step forward, consistent with recommenda-
tions of the Unified Court System's Justice Task Force and reflective of
the increasing national recognition of the value of video recording an
accused's statements in enhancing the accuracy of criminal proceedings.
With proliferation of inexpensive recording technology, there has been a
growing national consensus in favor of recording interrogations. Coupled
with advancing knowledge regarding the still-developing adolescent
brain, the consensus has been particularly strong with respect to inter-
rogations of youth. However, because of restrictions in the enumerated
crimes requiring recording and numerous exceptions to the recording

mandate even in cases where it is applied, the new statute has almost no
applicability to suspects who need it most, i.e., those accused of juve-
nile delinquency whose cases are prosecuted in Family Court. The new law
only applies to Class A-1 felonies (not including controlled substances
offenses), predatory sex offenses (Penal Law §§ 130.95 and 130.96) and
Class B violent felony homicide and sex offenses  
PENAL LAW ARTICLES 125
AND 130 DEFINED IN PENAL LAW § 70.02 - rare crimes by juveniles, almost
all of which are prosecuted in adult criminal courts as juvenile
offenses. See Penal Law § 10.00(18); CPL § 1.20(42). Accordingly, we
propose this measure to require video recording of all interrogations of
accused juvenile delinquents where such interrogations take place in law
enforcement facilities approved for the questioning of youth.

This measure amends sections 305.2 and 344.2 of the Family Court Act to
require video recording of the entirety of interrogations in all juve-
nile cases, including the provision of Miranda warnings and the waiver,
if any, of rights by the juveniles. As in chapter 59 of the Laws of
2017, the measure requires that recording procedures be consistent with
regulations to be promulgated by the Division of Criminal Justice
Services. The measure applies to interrogations that take place in law
enforcement facilities, which, pursuant to Family Court Act § 305.2(4)
and section 205.20 of the Uniform Rules of the Family Court, must be in
rooms that have been inspected and approved by the Chief Administrator
of the Courts for the questioning of youth. All persons in the recording
must be identifiable and the speech must be intelligible. As is applica-
ble to other statements by juveniles, the recording would be subject to
discovery pursuant to Family Court Act § 331.2. Further, like other
factors in juvenile delinquency Huntley hearings, including the presence
or absence of parents, location of questioning and the validity of any
waiver of rights, the fact and quality of the recording would be among
factors comprising the totality of circumstances affecting admissibility
of accused juveniles' statements. As provided in chapter 59, failure to
record would not, by itself, be a ground for granting a suppression
motion.


The widespread recognition of the value of recording interrogations
reflects its advantages in enhancing the accuracy of the criminal proc-
ess, advantages that may be even more compelling in juvenile cases. Our
Justice Task Force, in January, 2012, issued "Recommendations Regarding
Electronic Recording of Custodial Interrogations" as one means of amel-
iorating the problem of false confessions that has led to wrongful
convictions:

The reform most universally urged by academics and others and most
commonly adopted in other jurisdictions to identify and prevent false
confessions is electronic recording of interrogations. Indeed, there was
unanimous agreement on the Task Force about the many benefits of record-
ing interrogations. The Task Force agreed that recording can aid not
only the innocent, the defense and the prosecution, but also enhances
public confidence in the criminal justice system by increasing transpar-
ency as to what was said and done during the interrogation.

Indeed, among its many benefits, recording helps identify false
confessions; provides an objective and reliable record of what occurred
during an interrogation; assists the judge and jury in determining a
statement's voluntariness and reliability; prevents disputes about how
an officer conducted himself or treated a suspect, and serves as a
useful training tool to police officers.

Id. at p. 2.

While urging that recording be mandatory at least in certain circum-
stances, the Task Force acknowledged the voluntary guidelines adopted in
December, 2010, by the New York State District Attorneys Association
that were developed in conjunction with the New York City Police Depart-
ment, the New York State Police, the New York State Chiefs of Police
Association, and the New York State Sheriffs' Association. Id. at p. 2,
note 2. These New York State Guidelines for Recording Custodial Interro-
gations of Suspects, inter alia, at pps 6-7, noted that questioning of
accused juvenile delinquents should be recorded in court-approved juve-
nile questioning rooms upon compliance with parental notification
requirements, and suggested that simplified Miranda warnings be used.

Significant State and Federal funds have already been invested in equip-
ment enabling law enforcement agencies statewide to record interro-
gations, both of adults and of juveniles. Since 2007, State funds have
been made available to assist prosecutors and law enforcement in commu-
nities both large and small to expand their capacities to record inter-
rogations. In a July, 2013 press release, announcing one million dollars
in State funds to expand video recording throughout the State, Governor
Cuomo indicated that 345 police agencies in 58 of the 62 counties were
already video recording interrogations. In a July, 2016 press release,
characterizing video recording as "widely recognized as a best practice
for enhancing the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice
system," Governor Cuomo and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance,
Jr., announced a $500,000 grant to expand the program, with preference
accorded to agencies that had not received funds in 2013.  Over one
million dollars in State funds have thus been expended to date, result-
ing in at least one law enforcement facility in every one of the State's
62 counties equipped to record interrogations.

The factors favoring video recording of interrogations of adults are
even more present when such recording is utilized for juveniles accused
of acts of delinquency. The International Association of Chiefs of
Police, in its publication, Reducing Risks: An Executive's Guide to
Effective Juvenile Interview and Interrogation (IACP, Sept., 2012;
www.iacp.org), recommended video recording of juvenile interrogations on
the ground that lack of full development of the pre-frontal cortex in
adolescents, which governs judgment, decision-making and understanding
of consequences, makes them more likely to give false confessions. These
adolescent development factors were central to decisions of the United
States Supreme Court in cases outlawing the juvenile death penalty,
limiting life without parole and requiring age to be considered a factor
in determining whether school-based police interrogation was custodial
for purposes of assessing the voluntariness of the juvenile's waiver of
the right to counsel. See Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005); Miller
v.  Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012); J.D.B. v. North Carolina, 131 S.Ct.
2394 (2011); Graham v. Florida, 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010).

Significantly, the juvenile justice chapter of the comprehensive report,
Reforming Criminal Justice, recently issued by the Academy for Justice,
noted a consensus in favor of recording juvenile interrogations reached
by "legal scholars, psychologists, law enforcement, and justice-system
personnel," noting that it "reduces coercion, diminishes dangers of
false confessions and increases reliability:"

Recording creates an objective record and provides an independent basis
to resolve credibility disputes about Miranda warnings, waivers, or
statements. It enables a judge to decide whether a statement contained
facts known to a guilty perpetrator or whether police supplied them to
an innocent suspect. Recording protects police from false claims of
abuse, enhances professionalism and reduces coercion. It enables police
to focus on suspects' responses, to review details of an interview not
captured in written notes, and to test them against subsequently discov-
ered facts. Recording avoids distortions that occur when interviewers
rely on memory or notes to summarize a statement.

There is a national movement toward requiring video recording of inter-
rogations of juveniles. By 2012, when the IACP report was issued, there
were 16 States mandating recording by statute or case law, with many
other states having legislation pending. Particularly noteworthy among
these statutes are those in Illinois and North Carolina. Additionally,
the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in In Re Jerrell C.J., 699 N.W. 2d 110
(Wis., 2005), used its supervisory authority to require video recording
of juvenile interrogations.

The benefits not only to juveniles, but also to the justice system, of
enhancing the requirements established in chapter 59 for video recording
of interrogations of juveniles in New York are substantial. Requiring a
transparent interrogation process will not only render false confessions
and wrongful adjudications less likely but will provide an objective
basis for Family Court to evaluate the validity of a juveniles' waivers
of rights as well as the substance of the statements themselves. Judges
have reported frequent cases involving disparities in testimony between
witnesses to the interrogation, e.g., parents and police officers.
Having an objective basis upon which the court can determine the accura-
cy of witnesses' testimony will be invaluable. It protects the juve-
niles' statutory and constitutional rights, while at the same time
protecting law enforcement by providing a reliable record of the circum-
stances surrounding interrogations and their compliance with statutory
requirements and protocols. Further, it is likely to reduce the number
of contested suppression hearings, thus facilitating expeditious resol-
ution and timely adjudication of juvenile delinquency cases. Finally,
enactment of this measure would not only be beneficial; it would also be
practical and non-burdensome, as inexpensive and unobtrusive recording
equipment is already widely available to law enforcement and prosecu-
tors' agencies.

This measure would take effect November first in the year next succeed-
ing the year of enactment.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

OCA 2017-14. S4764 (2017-18); A.7690 (2017-18)

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6533
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 15, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MONTGOMERY  --  (at request of the Office of Court
   Administration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to
   be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to video recording  of
   interrogations  of  juveniles  in  juvenile delinquency proceedings in
   family court

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 8 of section 305.2 of the family court act, as
 amended by chapter 398 of the laws of 1983, is amended and a new  subdi-
 vision 5-a is  added to read as follows:
   5-A.  WHERE  A  CHILD IS SUBJECT TO INTERROGATION AT A FACILITY DESIG-
 NATED BY THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS AS A SUITABLE  PLACE  FOR
 THE  QUESTIONING  OF  JUVENILES  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  FOUR OF THIS
 SECTION, THE ENTIRE INTERROGATION, INCLUDING THE GIVING OF ANY  REQUIRED
 NOTICE  TO  THE  CHILD AS TO HIS OR HER RIGHTS AND THE CHILD'S WAIVER OF
 ANY RIGHTS, SHALL BE VIDEO RECORDED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT  WITH  STAND-
 ARDS  ESTABLISHED  BY  RULE OF THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES
 PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (E) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION 60.45  OF  THE
 CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE LAW. THE INTERROGATION SHALL BE RECORDED IN A MANNER
 SUCH THAT THE PERSONS IN THE RECORDING ARE IDENTIFIABLE AND  THE  SPEECH
 IS  INTELLIGIBLE.  A COPY OF THE RECORDING SHALL BE SUBJECT TO DISCOVERY
 PURSUANT TO SECTION 331.2 OF THIS ARTICLE.
   8. In determining the suitability of questioning and  determining  the
 reasonable period of time for questioning such a child, the child's age,
 the  presence  or absence of his OR HER parents or other persons legally
 responsible for his OR HER care [and], notification pursuant to subdivi-
 sion three AND, WHERE THE CHILD HAS  BEEN  INTERROGATED  AT  A  FACILITY
 DESIGNATED  BY THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS AS A SUITABLE PLACE
 FOR THE QUESTIONING OF  JUVENILES,  WHETHER  THE  INTERROGATION  WAS  IN
 COMPLIANCE  WITH  THE  VIDEO-RECORDING  AND  DISCLOSURE  REQUIREMENTS OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD09847-01-9

 S. 6533                             2
 
 SUBDIVISION FIVE-A OF THIS SECTION  shall  be  included  among  relevant
 considerations.
   §  2. Subdivision 3 of section 344.2 of the family court act, as added
 by section 2 of part VVV of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   3.  Where  a  respondent  is subject to [custodial] interrogation by a
 public servant at a facility specified in subdivision  four  of  section
 305.2 of this article, the entire custodial interrogation, including the
 giving  of  any  required  advice  of the rights of the individual being
 questioned, and the waiver of any rights by  the  individual,  shall  be
 recorded  and  governed  in  [accordance]  A MANNER CONSISTENT with [the
 provisions of paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and]  STANDARDS  ESTABLISHED
 BY  RULE  OF THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES PURSUANT TO PARA-
 GRAPH (e) of subdivision three of section 60.45 of the  criminal  proce-
 dure law.  THE INTERROGATION SHALL BE RECORDED IN A MANNER SUCH THAT THE
 PERSONS  IN  THE RECORDING ARE IDENTIFIABLE AND THE SPEECH IS INTELLIGI-
 BLE. A COPY OF THE RECORDING SHALL BE SUBJECT TO DISCOVERY  PURSUANT  TO
 SECTION 331.2 OF THIS ARTICLE.
   §  3.  This act shall take effect on the first of November in the year
 next succeeding the year in which this act shall have become a  law  and
 shall  apply only to confessions, admissions or other statements made on
 or after such  effective  date.  Effective  immediately,  the  addition,
 amendment  and/or  repeal  of  any  rule or regulation necessary for the
 implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized  to  be
 made  by  the  division  of  criminal justice services on or before such
 effective date.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S6533

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Mar 11, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Mar 11, 2020

Feb 25, 2020 - Finance committee Vote

Finance Committee Vote: Feb 25, 2020

Feb 4, 2020 - Children and Families committee Vote

Children and Families Committee Vote: Feb 4, 2020

Jun 19, 2019 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 19, 2019

Jun 19, 2019 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jun 19, 2019

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Details

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S6533

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Sponsored By

Velmanette Montgomery

Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Mar 11, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Mar 11, 2020

Feb 25, 2020 - Finance committee Vote

Finance Committee Vote: Feb 25, 2020

Feb 4, 2020 - Children and Families committee Vote

Children and Families Committee Vote: Feb 4, 2020

Jun 19, 2019 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 19, 2019

Jun 19, 2019 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jun 19, 2019

Sponsor's Position

Velmanette Montgomery

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Details

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6533 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments