Senate Bill S6806

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to precluding inadmissible statements made by defendants because of false information and requires data collection of recorded interrogations

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

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

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to codes
Oct 25, 2019	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §60.45, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S324
2023-2024: S2303
2025-2026: S1860

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to precluding inadmissible statements made by defendants because of false facts about evidence or because of a statement that undermines the reliability of the defendant's statement and requires data collection and analysis by the division of criminal justice services of recorded interrogations.

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6806

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to defendants'
statement admissibility and recorded interrogations

 
PURPOSE:

To provide increased protections against false confession and/or false
incrimination by individuals subject to interrogation, and to provide
for the collection of data concerning recorded interrogations.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 Amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 60.45 of the criminal
procedure law, providing any promise or statement of fact by law
enforcement to an individual under interrogation that undermines the
reliability of such individual's statement, and increases the likelihood
of that individual's false incrimination is designated as an involuntary

confession, statement, or admission. In addition, providing any
confession produced from such interrogation where there existed a pres-
entation of knowingly false information to individuals under interro-
gation by law enforcement is designated as an involuntary confession,
statement or admission. Adds a new subdivision 4 providing for the
collection of recorded interrogation data by the Division of Criminal
Justice Services.

Section 2 provides for the effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Our justice system should be based on basic principles of fairness and
transparency. When defendants are under interrogation, however, our
current law allows law enforcement to use deceptive practices and to do
so in unrecorded interactions. While many interactions between law
enforcement and the accused may not involve such deception, the conse-
quences for instances where it does occur are dire.  These practices
have led to coerced confessions which can wrongfully imprison innocent
citizens or provide the improper basis for additional charges. The abil-
ity of the government to deny an individual their liberty is one of its
most sobering powers and the exercise of that power should not be based
on deception.

In 1989, five teenage men were wrongly convicted of raping a woman in
New York City's Central Park. Their guilt was largely based on false
confessions coerced by law enforcement. Today, they are widely known as
the "Exonerated 5," but it took thirteen years in prison and the DNA
evidence of the real perpetrator to overturn their wrongful convictions.
Had the law, in 1989, prevented deceptive practices by law enforcement,
they may have never been incarcerated.

Unfortunately, the Exonerated 5 are not isolated cases. New York
consistently ranks near the top of the country in false convictions.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, from 1989-2015,
there were 1600 exonerations, and over that period, New York ranked
second only to Texas with 189 exonerations. Of the top ten counties with
exonerations, New York accounted for three; Kings County, Bronx County,
and New York County had the 5th, 6th, and 7th most exonerations, respec-
tively. In 2018 alone, New York tied Texas for the second most false
convictions (16) in the United States (there were 151 exonerations
nationwide). Out of the 151 exonerations nationwide, 107 included offi-
cial misconduct, and 19 included false confessions.

Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that proof
should not include evidence tainted by a false confession. Recording
interrogations and prohibiting deceptive practices in the process is a
step in the right direction that will put New York at the forefront of
fairness and transparency in the justice system.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6806
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             October 25, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation  to  defendants'
   statement admissibility and recorded interrogations
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2  of  section  60.45  of  the  criminal
 procedure  law  are  amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as
 follows:
   1. Evidence of a written  or  oral  confession,  admission,  or  other
 statement  made  by a defendant with respect to his OR HER participation
 or lack of participation in the offense charged, may not be received  in
 evidence  against  him OR HER in a criminal proceeding if such statement
 was involuntarily made.
   2. A confession, admission or other statement is "involuntarily  made"
 by a defendant when it is obtained from him OR HER:
   (a)  By any person by the use or threatened use of physical force upon
 the defendant or another person, or  by  means  of  any  other  improper
 conduct  or  undue  pressure  which impaired the defendant's physical or
 mental condition to the extent of undermining his OR HER ability to make
 a choice whether or not to make a statement; or
   (b) By a public servant engaged in law enforcement activity  or  by  a
 person then acting under his OR HER direction or in cooperation with him
 OR HER:
   (i)  by  means  of  any promise or statement of fact, which promise or
 statement UNDERMINES THE RELIABILITY OF THE  DEFENDANT'S  STATEMENT,  OR
 creates  a substantial risk that the defendant might falsely incriminate
 himself OR HERSELF; [or]
   (ii) BY KNOWINGLY COMMUNICATING FALSE  FACTS  ABOUT  EVIDENCE  TO  THE
 DEFENDANT; OR
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13886-02-9

 S. 6806                             2
 
   (III) in violation of such rights as the defendant may derive from the
 constitution of this state or of the United States.
   4. THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES SHALL COLLECT AND ANALYZE
 THE FOLLOWING DATA RELATED TO THE RECORDATION OF INTERROGATIONS PURSUANT
 TO  THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION, INCLUDING BUT
 NOT LIMITED TO:
   (A)  THE  AGGREGATE  ANNUAL  NUMBER  OF  RECORDED  INTERROGATIONS   IN
 DETENTION  FACILITIES  FOR ALL CATEGORIES OF CRIMINAL CHARGES, INCLUDING
 SUCH CHARGES AS REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION THREE  OF  THIS
 SECTION AND ANY ADDITIONAL RECORDED INTERROGATIONS.
   (B) THE DISAGGREGATE DATA FOR EACH CASE INVOLVING A CUSTODIAL INTERRO-
 GATION  OF  A  PERSON SUSPECTED OF COMMITTING A CRIME THAT OCCURRED IN A
 DETENTION FACILITY, INCLUDING:
   (I) WHETHER THE INTERROGATION WAS RECORDED.
   (II) IF THE INTERROGATION WAS NOT RECORDED, WHETHER THERE WAS A  SHOW-
 ING OF GOOD CAUSE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS
 SECTION.
   (III)  THE  DURATION OF THE INTERROGATION AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE
 RECORDED INTERROGATION, INCLUDING:
   (1) WHETHER THE RECORDING BEGAN: (A)  WHEN  THE  SUSPECT  ENTERED  THE
 INTERROGATION  ROOM;  (B)  WHEN  THE SUSPECT WAS READ HIS OR HER MIRANDA
 RIGHTS; OR (C) AFTER THE SUSPECT WAS READ HIS OR HER MIRANDA RIGHTS; AND
   (2) WHETHER THE RECORDING ENDED: (A) AFTER  THE  INTERROGATION  ENDED;
 (B)  IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THE  SUSPECT  CONFESSED; OR (C) AT ANOTHER TIME
 PRIOR TO THE END OF THE INTERROGATION.
   (IV) WHETHER THE SUSPECT CONFESSED TO THE CRIME  DURING  THE  INTERRO-
 GATION.
   (V)  WHETHER  THE  INTERROGATION  WAS RECORDED WITH VIDEO AND AUDIO OR
 AUDIO ONLY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S6806

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Zellnor Myrie

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Brian Benjamin

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Gustavo Rivera

Julia Salazar

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments