S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5107
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 12, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the use of
sealed records
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.50
2 of the criminal procedure law, paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 169
3 of the laws of 1994, paragraph (d) as amended by section 73 of subpart B
4 of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, are amended to read as
5 follows:
6 (c) all official records and papers, including judgments and orders of
7 a court but not including published court decisions or opinions or
8 records and briefs on appeal, relating to the arrest or prosecution,
9 including all duplicates and copies thereof, on file with the division
10 of criminal justice services, any court, police agency, or prosecutor's
11 office shall be sealed and not made available to, OR USED FOR ANY
12 PURPOSE NOT SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY LAW BY any person or public or
13 private agency, EVEN IF THE RECORDS WERE PREVIOUSLY OBTAINED BY SUCH
14 PERSON OR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE AGENCY;
15 (d) [such] THE records REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
16 SION shall ONLY be made available to, AND MAY ONLY BE USED BY, the
17 person accused or to such person's designated agent, and shall ONLY be
18 made available to, AND MAY ONLY BE USED BY: (i) a prosecutor in any
19 proceeding in which the accused has moved for an order pursuant to
20 section 170.56 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law enforcement
21 agency upon ex parte motion in any superior court, if such agency demon-
22 strates to the satisfaction of the court that justice requires that such
23 records be made available to it, or (iii) any state or local officer or
24 agency with responsibility for the issuance of licenses to possess guns,
25 when the accused has made application for such a license, or (iv) the
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07752-01-5
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1 New York state department of corrections and community supervision when
2 the accused is on parole supervision as a result of conditional release
3 or a parole release granted by the New York state board of parole, and
4 the arrest which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred
5 while the accused was under such supervision, or (v) any prospective
6 employer of a police officer or peace officer as those terms are defined
7 in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of this
8 chapter, in relation to an application for employment as a police offi-
9 cer or peace officer; provided, however, that every person who is an
10 applicant for the position of police officer or peace officer shall be
11 furnished with a copy of all records obtained under this paragraph and
12 afforded an opportunity to make an explanation thereto, or (vi) the
13 probation department responsible for supervision of the accused when the
14 arrest which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while
15 the accused was under such supervision; and
16 S 2. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.55 of the
17 criminal procedure law, paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 169 of the
18 laws of 1994, paragraph (d) as amended by section 74 of subpart B of
19 part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, are amended to read as
20 follows:
21 (c) all official records and papers relating to the arrest or prose-
22 cution, including all duplicates and copies thereof, on file with the
23 division of criminal justice services, police agency, or prosecutor's
24 office shall be sealed and not made available to, OR USED FOR ANY
25 PURPOSE NOT SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY LAW BY any person or public or
26 private agency, EVEN IF THE RECORDS WERE PREVIOUSLY OBTAINED BY SUCH
27 PERSON OR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE AGENCY;
28 (d) the records referred to in paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall
29 ONLY be made available to, AND MAY ONLY BE USED BY, the person accused
30 or to such person's designated agent, and shall ONLY be made available
31 to, AND MAY ONLY BE USED BY: (i) a prosecutor in any proceeding in which
32 the accused has moved for an order pursuant to section 170.56 or 210.46
33 of this chapter, or (ii) a law enforcement agency upon ex parte motion
34 in any superior court, if such agency demonstrates to the satisfaction
35 of the court that justice requires that such records be made available
36 to it, or (iii) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility
37 for the issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the accused has made
38 application for such a license, or (iv) the New York state department of
39 corrections and community supervision when the accused is under parole
40 supervision as a result of conditional release or parole release granted
41 by the New York state board of parole and the arrest which is the
42 subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under
43 such supervision, or (v) the probation department responsible for super-
44 vision of the accused when the arrest which is the subject of the
45 inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under such super-
46 vision, or (vi) a police agency, probation department, sheriff's office,
47 district attorney's office, department of correction of any municipality
48 and parole department, for law enforcement purposes, upon arrest in
49 instances in which the individual stands convicted of harassment in the
50 second degree, as defined in section 240.26 of the penal law, committed
51 against a member of the same family or household as the defendant, as
52 defined in subdivision one of section 530.11 of this chapter, and deter-
53 mined pursuant to subdivision eight-a of section 170.10 of this title;
54 and
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1 S 3. Subdivision 4 of section 160.58 of the criminal procedure law, as
2 added by section 3 of part AAA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 4. When a court orders sealing pursuant to this section, all official
5 records and papers relating to the arrests, prosecutions, and
6 convictions, including all duplicates and copies thereof, on file with
7 the division of criminal justice services or any court shall be sealed
8 and not made available to, OR USED FOR ANY PURPOSE NOT SPECIFICALLY
9 AUTHORIZED BY LAW BY, any person or public or private agency, EVEN IF
10 THE RECORDS WERE PREVIOUSLY OBTAINED BY SUCH PERSON OR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE
11 AGENCY; provided, however, the division shall retain any fingerprints,
12 palmprints and photographs, or digital images of the same.
13 S 4. Subdivision 6 of section 160.58 of the criminal procedure law, as
14 added by section 3 of part AAA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, is
15 amended to read as follows:
16 6. Records sealed pursuant to this subdivision shall ONLY be made
17 available to, AND MAY ONLY BE USED BY:
18 (a) the defendant or the defendant's designated agent;
19 (b) qualified agencies, as defined in subdivision nine of section
20 eight hundred thirty-five of the executive law, and federal and state
21 law enforcement agencies, when acting within the scope of their law
22 enforcement duties; or
23 (c) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility for the
24 issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the person has made applica-
25 tion for such a license; or
26 (d) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer as
27 those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of
28 section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an application for employ-
29 ment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, however, that every
30 person who is an applicant for the position of police officer or peace
31 officer shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under
32 this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation there-
33 to.
34 S 5. Subdivision 2 of section 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, as
35 amended by section 87 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws
36 of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
37 2. Except where specifically required or permitted by statute or upon
38 specific authorization of the court, all official records and papers,
39 whether on file with the court, a police agency or the division of crim-
40 inal justice services, relating to a case involving a youth who has been
41 adjudicated a youthful offender, are confidential and may not be made
42 available to, OR USED FOR ANY PURPOSE NOT SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY LAW
43 BY, any person or public or private agency, EVEN IF THE RECORDS WERE
44 PREVIOUSLY OBTAINED BY SUCH PERSON OR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE AGENCY, other
45 than the designated educational official of the public or private
46 elementary or secondary school in which the youth is enrolled as a
47 student provided that such local educational official shall only have
48 made available a notice of such adjudication and shall not have access
49 to any other official records and papers, such youth or such youth's
50 designated agent (but only where the official records and papers sought
51 are on file with a court and request therefor is made to that court or
52 to a clerk thereof), an institution to which such youth has been commit-
53 ted, the department of corrections and community supervision and a
54 probation department of this state that requires such official records
55 and papers for the purpose of carrying out duties specifically author-
56 ized by law; provided, however, that information regarding an order of
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1 protection or temporary order of protection issued pursuant to section
2 530.12 of this chapter or a warrant issued in connection therewith may
3 be maintained on the statewide automated order of protection and warrant
4 registry established pursuant to section two hundred twenty-one-a of the
5 executive law during the period that such order of protection or tempo-
6 rary order of protection is in full force and effect or during which
7 such warrant may be executed. Such confidential information may be made
8 available pursuant to law only for purposes of adjudicating or enforcing
9 such order of protection or temporary order of protection and, where
10 provided to a designated educational official, as defined in section
11 380.90 of this chapter, for purposes related to the execution of the
12 student's educational plan, where applicable, successful school adjust-
13 ment and reentry into the community. Such notification shall be kept
14 separate and apart from such student's school records and shall be
15 accessible only by the designated educational official. Such notifica-
16 tion shall not be part of such student's permanent school record and
17 shall not be appended to or included in any documentation regarding such
18 student and shall be destroyed at such time as such student is no longer
19 enrolled in the school district. At no time shall such notification be
20 used for any purpose other than those specified in this subdivision.
21 S 6. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
22 have become a law.