BILL NUMBER: S7447

SPONSOR: SERINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to protective
orders

 
PURPOSE:

To help protect criminal witnesses by providing that the names, contact
information and statements may be withheld in cases related to criminal
street gang or criminal enterprise activity.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Section 245.70 of the Criminal Procedure law to
provide that when reasonable cause has been established to believe a
defendant is associated with a criminal street gang or a criminal enter-
prise and that offense is connected to the criminal street gang or crim-
inal enterprise activity, then there shall be a presumption that good
cause exists for the court to authorize the withholding of names,
              

adequate contact information, and statements of any victim or eyewitness
to the charged offense.

Section 2: Establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The laws dictating New York State's discovery process were dramatically
changed as part of the 2019-2020 New York State Budget.  These changes
now require prosecutors to automatically disclose the names and contact
information of anyone the prosecutor knows to have information relevant
to any offense charged or to any potential defense. Although prosecutors
can seek a protective order to protect witnesses who come forward, such
an order is not guaranteed, nor sufficient to adequately ensure witness
safety. Many potential witnesses-and even victims themselves-are
deterred from cooperating in an investigation when their ability to
protect their identity-even well before a trial-is uncertain, especially
in cases related to gang violence when there are elevated concerns of
intimidation and retaliation by gang members.

With gang violence on the rise in communities throughout New York State,
law enforcement has little recourse to pursue charges in cases of gang
violence that often have multiple witnesses, but nobody willing to come
forward for fear of retaliation. Reforming the discovery process without
providing adequate safeguards for witnesses who may be in danger has
only served to exacerbate this issue.

This legislation would help protect witnesses to gang violence by
providing that when reasonable cause has been established to believe the
crime is associated with criminal street gang or criminal enterprise
activity, there will be a presumption that good cause exists for the
court to authorize the withholding of names, adequate contact informa-
tion, and statements of any victim or eyewitness. Such a safeguard will
empower witnesses to come forward when they have information about a
crime and ensure prosecutors have an additional tool at their disposal
to better protect the safety of such witnesses and hold perpetrators of
gang violence accountable.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.