Bill Text: NY A02522 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the public release of grand jury documents; releases the district attorney's grand jury charges to the public upon request once the grand jury has reached a final decision.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to codes [A02522 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A02522-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2522
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 23, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  O'DONNELL  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Codes
        AN ACT to amend the  criminal  procedure  law,  in  relation  to  public
          release of grand jury documents
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 190.25 of the  criminal  procedure
     2  law is amended to read as follows:
     3    6.  (a)  The  legal  advisors  of the grand jury are the court and the
     4  district attorney, and the grand jury may  not  seek  or  receive  legal
     5  advice  from any other source. Where necessary or appropriate, the court
     6  or the district attorney, or both, must instruct the grand jury concern-
     7  ing the law with respect to its duties or any matter before it, and such
     8  instructions must be recorded in the minutes.
     9    (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this  section
    10  or  any other law to the contrary, at any time following final action by
    11  the grand jury on any charge or charges, the court shall make such legal
    12  instructions and charges submitted to the grand jury  available  to  the
    13  public on request, provided that the names of witnesses and any informa-
    14  tion   that  would  identify  such  witnesses  included  in  such  legal
    15  instructions shall be redacted when the court determines, in  a  written
    16  order, that there is a reasonable likelihood that public release of such
    17  information would endanger any individual.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02939-01-9