Senate Bill S4188

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4188
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  LANZA, MATTERA, OBERACKER, PALUMBO, STEC, WEIK --
   read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
   the Committee on Codes
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the criminal procedure law and the executive law, in
   relation to requiring that all family members of a  crime  victim  and
   all  interested  parties who want to give a victim impact statement to
   parole board members be allowed to do so
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law, as added by
 chapter 496 of the laws of 1978, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 322
 of the laws of 2021, and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 14  of  the
 laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
 § 440.50 Notice to crime victims, FAMILY MEMBERS OF A CRIME VICTIM OR AN
            INTERESTED PARTY of case disposition.
   1. Upon the request of a victim of a crime, A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME
 VICTIM OR AN INTERESTED PARTY, or in any event in all cases in which the
 final  disposition  includes a conviction of a violent felony offense as
 defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, a felony defined  in  article
 one  hundred twenty-five of such law, or a felony defined in article one
 hundred thirty of such law, the district attorney  shall,  within  sixty
 days of the final disposition of the case, inform the victim OR A FAMILY
 MEMBER  OF  A  CRIME  VICTIM  OR  AN INTERESTED PARTY WHO REQUESTS TO BE
 INFORMED by letter of such final disposition. If such final  disposition
 results in the commitment of the defendant to the custody of the depart-
 ment  of  corrections  and  community  supervision  for an indeterminate
 sentence, the notice provided to the crime victim, A FAMILY MEMBER OF  A
 CRIME  VICTIM  OR INTERESTED PARTY shall also inform [the victim] HIM OR
 HER of his or her right to submit a written, audiotaped,  or  videotaped
 victim  impact  statement to the department of corrections and community
 supervision or to meet personally with [a member] MEMBERS of  the  state
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07827-01-3
              

 S. 4188                             2
 
 board  of parole WHO WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS RELEASED at
 a time and place separate from the personal interview between  a  member
 or  members of the board and the incarcerated individual and make such a
 statement,  subject  to procedures and limitations contained in rules of
 the board, both pursuant to  subdivision  two  of  section  two  hundred
 fifty-nine-i  of  the  executive  law.  A  copy  of such letter shall be
 provided to the board of parole. The  right  of  the  victim,  A  FAMILY
 MEMBER  OF  A CRIME VICTIM OR AN INTERESTED PARTY under this subdivision
 to submit a written victim impact statement or to meet  personally  with
 [a member] MEMBERS of the state board of parole applies to each personal
 interview  between a member or members of the board and the incarcerated
 individual.
   2. As used in this section,  "victim"  means  any  person  alleged  or
 found,  upon  the record, to have sustained physical or financial injury
 to person or property as a direct result  of  the  crime  charged  or  a
 person  alleged  or found to have sustained, upon the record, an offense
 under article one hundred thirty of the penal law, or in the case  of  a
 homicide or minor child, the victim's family.
   3.  As  used  in  this  section, "final disposition" means an ultimate
 termination of the case at the trial level including,  but  not  limited
 to,  dismissal,  acquittal, or imposition of sentence by the court, or a
 decision by the district attorney, for whatever reason, to not file  the
 case.
   4.  AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME VICTIM" MEANS A
 MEMBER OF THE VICTIM'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY WHO IS AT  LEAST  SIXTEEN  YEARS
 OLD.
   5.  AS  USED  IN THIS SECTION, "INTERESTED PARTY" SHALL MEAN A PERSON,
 WHO IS NOT A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME VICTIM, DESIGNATED  BY  THE  JUDGE
 WHO  IMPOSES  THE  SENTENCE  ON  THE  DEFENDANT,  AS A PERSON WHO HAS AN
 INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CASE SUFFICIENT TO MAKE HIM OR  HER  AN  INTERESTED
 PARTY. THE JUDGE WHO IMPOSES THE SENTENCE ON A DEFENDANT SHALL DESIGNATE
 INTERESTED PARTIES, IF ANY, AT THE TIME OF SENTENCING.
   §  2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 259-i of the executive
 law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (c) (A) Discretionary release on parole shall not be granted merely as
 a  reward  for  good  conduct  or  efficient performance of duties while
 confined but after considering if  there  is  a  reasonable  probability
 that,  if  such incarcerated individual is released, he or she will live
 and remain at liberty without violating the law, and  that  his  or  her
 release  is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not so
 deprecate the seriousness of his or her crime as  to  undermine  respect
 for  law.  In making the parole release decision, the procedures adopted
 pursuant to subdivision four of section two hundred fifty-nine-c of this
 article shall require that the following be considered: (i) the institu-
 tional record including  program  goals  and  accomplishments,  academic
 achievements, vocational education, training or work assignments, thera-
 py  and  interactions  with  staff  and  incarcerated  individuals; (ii)
 performance, if any, as a participant in a  temporary  release  program;
 (iii) release plans including community resources, employment, education
 and training and support services available to the incarcerated individ-
 ual; (iv) any deportation order issued by the federal government against
 the  incarcerated  individual while in the custody of the department and
 any recommendation regarding deportation made by the commissioner of the
 department pursuant to section one hundred forty-seven of the correction
 law; (v) any current or prior statement made to the board by  the  crime
 S. 4188                             3
 
 victim  or  the  victim's  representative,  where  the  crime  victim is
 deceased or is mentally or physically incapacitated OR A  FAMILY  MEMBER
 OF  A  CRIME  VICTIM OR INTERESTED PARTY AS DEFINED IN SECTION 440.50 OF
 THE  CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW; (vi) the length of the determinate sentence
 to which the incarcerated individual would be  subject  had  he  or  she
 received  a  sentence  pursuant to section 70.70 or section 70.71 of the
 penal law for a felony defined in article two hundred twenty or  article
 two  hundred  twenty-one  of the penal law; (vii) the seriousness of the
 offense with due consideration  to  the  type  of  sentence,  length  of
 sentence  and  recommendations  of  the  sentencing  court, the district
 attorney, the attorney for the incarcerated individual, the pre-sentence
 probation report as well as consideration of any mitigating  and  aggra-
 vating  factors,  and  activities following arrest prior to confinement;
 and (viii) prior criminal record, including the nature  and  pattern  of
 offenses, adjustment to any previous probation or parole supervision and
 institutional  confinement.  The board shall provide toll free telephone
 access for crime victims,  FAMILY  MEMBERS  AND  INTERESTED  PARTIES  AS
 DEFINED  IN SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW. In the case of
 an oral statement made in accordance with  subdivision  one  of  section
 440.50  of  the  criminal  procedure law, [the parole board member shall
 present a written report of the statement to the parole board] SUCH ORAL
 STATEMENT SHALL BE MADE TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO  WILL  DETERMINE
 WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS RELEASED. A crime victim's representative shall
 mean  the  crime  victim's  closest surviving relative, the committee or
 guardian of such person, or the legal representative of any such person.
 Such statement submitted by the victim or victim's representative, OR  A
 FAMILY  MEMBER  OF  A  CRIME  VICTIM  OR  INTERESTED PARTY AS DEFINED IN
 SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE  LAW  may  include  information
 concerning  threatening  or  intimidating conduct toward the victim, the
 victim's representative, or the victim's  family,  made  by  the  person
 sentenced  and  occurring  after  the  sentencing.  Such information may
 include, but need not be limited to,  the  threatening  or  intimidating
 conduct  of  any  other  person  who  or which is directed by the person
 sentenced. Any statement by a victim [or], the victim's  representative,
 A  FAMILY  MEMBER  OF  A CRIME VICTIM OR AN INTERESTED PARTY made to the
 board shall be maintained by the department in the file provided to  the
 board  when interviewing the incarcerated individual in consideration of
 release. A victim [or], victim's  representative,  FAMILY  MEMBER  OF  A
 CRIME  VICTIM OR INTERESTED PARTY who has submitted a written request to
 the department for the transcript of such interview  shall  be  provided
 such transcript as soon as it becomes available.
   (B)  Where  a  crime  victim  or victim's representative as defined in
 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph OR A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME  VICTIM
 OR  INTERESTED PARTY AS DEFINED IN SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCE-
 DURE LAW, or other person submits to the parole board a  written  state-
 ment  concerning  the  release of an incarcerated individual, the parole
 board shall keep that individual's name and address confidential.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.