Bill Text: NY A07600 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to increasing the safety and security of court officials and their immediate families.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to judiciary [A07600 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A07600-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7600 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 18, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judici- ary AN ACT to amend the judiciary law and the penal law, in relation to increasing the safety and security of court officials and their imme- diate families; authorizing the board of election and the department of motor vehicles to make conforming changes relating to a court offi- cial's personal information The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative purpose. The objective of this act, which shall 2 be referred to as the "New York State Judicial Security Act," is to 3 improve the safety and security of judges of the courts of the unified 4 court system and of the federal courts sitting in New York state, of 5 certain other persons working in or with these courts, and of the imme- 6 diate families of all of the foregoing. Greater confidence in their 7 personal safety and security, and in that of their family members, will 8 enable those involved in the administration of justice to perform their 9 duties fairly without fear of personal reprisal by litigants and others 10 affected by the decisions of courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and 11 others who work in and with the courts. 12 This objective will be accomplished by (i) providing a means by which 13 private information concerning active and former judges, nonjudicial 14 court personnel, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and others who work 15 with the courts, and their immediate families can be kept from public 16 display; and (ii) persons, businesses, associations, and public and 17 private agencies having such information can be forbidden from posting 18 it, or sharing or trading it with others. 19 § 2. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new article 22-B to read 20 as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09565-01-1A. 7600 2 1 ARTICLE 22-B 2 NEW YORK STATE JUDICAL SECURITY ACT 3 Section 858. New York state judicial security act. 4 858. New York state judicial security act. 1. Definitions. As used in 5 this article: 6 (a) "Eligible court official" shall mean actively employed and former 7 (i) judges and justices of the unified court system, including judges of 8 the housing part of the civil court of the city of New York, (ii) feder- 9 al judges sitting in New York, (iii) clerks of court of the unified 10 court system and of the federal courts sitting in New York, (iv) United 11 States attorneys serving in New York and their staff, (v) district 12 attorneys in each county of the state and their staff, (vi) attorneys 13 who appear in courts in New York and their staff, (vii) employees of the 14 United States Marshal Service serving in New York and employees of the 15 unified court system or a political subdivision of the state whose offi- 16 cial duties include the provision of court security services, (viii) 17 probation and pretrial officials serving in New York, and (ix) any other 18 employee of the unified court system or of the federal courts estab- 19 lished in New York designated by the chief administrator or the appro- 20 priate administrative authority for the federal courts, respectively, 21 where, in his or her opinion, the employee's duties warrant designation 22 as an eligible court official under this section in order to provide for 23 the safety and security of such employee. 24 (b) "Immediate family" shall mean, for each eligible court official, 25 the spouse, former spouse, parent, child, sibling, and any other person 26 who regularly resides or has regularly resided in the eligible court 27 official's household. 28 (c) "Personal information" shall include but not be limited to the 29 following for an eligible court official and, if he or she so indicates 30 as provided in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of 31 this section, for the members of his or her immediate family: (i) home 32 address, (ii) unlisted telephone number, (iii) cell phone number, (iv) 33 email address, (v) social security number, (vi) driver license number, 34 (vii) marital status and identity of any present and former spouse, 35 (viii) identity of children under eighteen, (ix) bank account number, 36 (x) credit or debit card number, (xi) personal identification number 37 (PIN), (xii) automated or electronic signature, (xiii) unique biometric 38 data, and (xiv) account passwords. 39 (d) "Making public the personal information" of an identified person 40 shall mean any effort or action by a person, business, association, or 41 public or private agency to post on the internet or otherwise display or 42 publish in any medium accessible to the public such identified person's 43 personal information, or to share or trade such information with others. 44 (e) "Written request" means an application in writing and signed by an 45 eligible court official, or his or her representative, requesting that 46 the chief administrator of the courts or the eligible court official's 47 employer, as appropriate, notify one or more persons, businesses, asso- 48 ciations, or public or private agencies that they must refrain from 49 making public the personal information of that eligible court official. 50 2. Written request; notification by chief administrator of the courts 51 or employer. 52 (a) This paragraph shall apply to each eligible court official or his 53 or her representative, other than a United States attorney, district 54 attorney, or attorney. An active eligible court official may submit a 55 written request to the chief administrator of the courts. A former 56 eligible court official may submit a written request to the official'sA. 7600 3 1 employer or to the person or office who would be his or her employer 2 were he or she still in service. For purposes of this subdivision, the 3 employer of a federal judge shall be the appropriate administrative 4 authority for the court in which he or she serves. The written request 5 shall specify: 6 (i) those items of personal information that the eligible court offi- 7 cial wishes to be kept from being made public; 8 (ii) the identity of members of the eligible court official's immedi- 9 ate family and indicate whether, for purposes of the written request, 10 his or her personal information should be deemed to include that of such 11 immediate family members; 12 (iii) whether the eligible court official wishes to identify a second- 13 ary residence as a home address; and 14 (iv) each person, business, association, and public or private agency 15 that the eligible court official wishes to bar from making public the 16 personal information of such eligible court official. 17 (b) The chief administrator and each employer to which a written 18 request may be submitted hereunder shall develop a system to review and 19 process such requests. 20 (c) If a written request has been properly submitted and is complete, 21 the chief administrator or employer, as appropriate, shall, within five 22 business days of receipt of such written request from an eligible court 23 official, notify each person, business, association, and public or 24 private agency identified in the written request that (i) beginning 25 within seventy-two hours of receipt of such notification, he, she, or it 26 must cease making public the personal information of the eligible court 27 official identified in such request, and (ii) within twenty business 28 days of such receipt, must delete or otherwise remove any existing post- 29 ing on the internet and any display or publication in any medium acces- 30 sible to the public containing such personal information as is specified 31 in the written request of the eligible court official on whose behalf 32 the notification is made. For purposes of this paragraph, notification 33 shall be by certified mail, return receipt requested, either at the 34 recipient's last known residence (if recipient is a person) or at the 35 recipient's principal office (which shall be the location at which the 36 office of the chief executive officer of the recipient is generally 37 located). 38 3. Each eligible court official to whom paragraph (a) of subdivision 39 two of this section does not apply may notify any person, business, 40 association, and public or private agency that (i) beginning within 41 seventy-two hours of receipt of such notification, the recipient thereof 42 must cease making public such personal information of such eligible 43 court official as may be specified in the notification (including 44 personal information of such immediate family members identified in the 45 notification), and (ii) within twenty business days of such receipt, the 46 recipient thereof must delete or otherwise remove any existing posting 47 on the internet and any display or publication in any medium accessible 48 to the public containing such personal information. For purposes of this 49 subdivision, notification shall be by certified mail, return receipt 50 requested, either at the recipient's last known address, if recipient is 51 a person, or at the recipient's principal office which shall be the 52 location at which the office of the chief executive officer of the 53 recipient is generally located. 54 4. Duration of notification. A notification issued on behalf of an 55 eligible court official pursuant to subdivision two or three of this 56 section expires on his or her death; provided, however, where a notifi-A. 7600 4 1 cation hereunder bars making public the personal information of a member 2 of an eligible court official's immediate family, that bar shall remain 3 in effect until the death of such immediate family member unless that 4 person or the eligible court official sooner rescinds it. If an eligible 5 court official wishes to rescind such a notification, he or she may 6 provide a person, business, association, or public or private agency 7 with written permission to make public his or her personal information. 8 5. Recipient of notification not to make an eligible court official's 9 personal information public; judicial relief available upon non-compli- 10 ance. (a) After a person, business, association, or public or private 11 agency has received a notification pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivi- 12 sion two or subdivision three of this section, he, she, or it shall have 13 (i) seventy-two hours to cease making public the personal information of 14 the eligible court official identified in such notification, and (ii) 15 twenty business days within which to delete or otherwise remove any 16 existing postings on the internet and any display or publication in any 17 medium accessible to the public containing such personal information. 18 (b) Judicial relief. An eligible court official may seek an injunction 19 or declaratory relief in a court of competent jurisdiction against a 20 person, business, association, or public or private agency that, after 21 receiving a notification pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two of 22 this section, fails timely to comply with the requirements of such 23 notification. If the court grants such injunctive or declaratory relief, 24 the affected person, business, association, or agency shall be required 25 to pay the eligible court official's costs and reasonable attorney's 26 fees. 27 (c) Upon a violation of any order granting injunctive or declarative 28 relief obtained pursuant to this paragraph, the court issuing such order 29 may: (i) where the violator is a public entity, impose a fine not 30 exceeding one thousand dollars and require the payment of court costs 31 and reasonable attorney fees; or (ii) where the violator is a person, 32 business, association, or private agency, award damages to the affected 33 eligible court official in an amount up to a maximum of three times the 34 actual damages, but not less than four thousand dollars, and require the 35 payment of court costs and reasonable attorney fees. 36 § 3. Section 120.09 of the penal law, as added by chapter 148 of the 37 laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 38 § 120.09 Assault on a judge. 39 A person is guilty of assault on a judge when, with intent to cause 40 serious physical injury and prevent a judge from performing official 41 judicial duties, he or she causes serious physical injury to such judge. 42 For the purposes of this section, the term judge shall [mean a] include 43 an actively employed or former judge [of a court of record or a justice44court] or justice of the unified court system, including a judge of the 45 housing part of the civil court of the city of New York, and an actively 46 employed or former federal judge or magistrate who sits in New York 47 state or, if a former federal judge or magistrate, who, while active, 48 sat in New York state. 49 Assault on a judge is a class C felony. 50 § 4. Section 120.40 of the penal law is amended by adding three new 51 subdivisions 6, 7 and 8 to read as follows: 52 6. "Social networking websites" shall mean websites on the internet 53 that permit persons to be registered users for the purpose of establish- 54 ing relationships with other users, where such persons (i) may create 55 web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and/or 56 upload photos, video, written posts, and other content where such webA. 7600 5 1 pages or profiles are available to the public or to other users, and/or 2 (ii) may communicate with other users, such as through chat rooms, 3 instant messenger, direct messaging, emailing, and/or message boards. 4 7. "Personal information" shall include, but is not limited to, the 5 following (i) home address, (ii) unlisted telephone number, (iii) cell 6 phone number, (iv) email address, (v) social security number, (vi) driv- 7 er license number, (vii) marital status and identity of any present and 8 former spouse, (viii) identity of children under eighteen, (ix) bank 9 account number, (x) credit or debit card number, (xi) personal identifi- 10 cation number (PIN), (xii) automated or electronic signature, (xiii) 11 unique biometric data, and (xiv) account passwords. 12 8. "Judge" shall include an actively employed or former judge or 13 justice of the unified court system, including a judge of the housing 14 part of the civil court of the city of New York, and an actively 15 employed or former federal judge or magistrate who sits in New York 16 state or, if a former federal judge or magistrate, who, while active, 17 sat in New York state. 18 § 5. Subdivision 2 of section 120.45 of the penal law, as amended by 19 chapter 184 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows: 20 2. causes material harm to the mental or emotional health of such 21 person, where such conduct consists of either (i) following, telephoning 22 or initiating communication or contact with such person, a member of 23 such person's immediate family or a third party with whom such person is 24 acquainted, and the actor was previously clearly informed to cease that 25 conduct, or (ii) disseminating personal information through or posting 26 personal information on social networking websites about such person, a 27 member of such person's immediate family or a third party with whom such 28 person is acquainted; or 29 § 6. The first undesignated paragraph of section 120.45 of the penal 30 law, as amended by chapter 184 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read 31 as follows: 32 For the purposes of this section, it shall constitute presumptive 33 evidence of "having no legitimate purpose" when (i) the victim of the 34 conduct described under this section is a judge, or a member of his or 35 her immediate family, and (ii) the person charged pursuant to this 36 section, or a member of such person's immediate family, was or is a 37 party to a judicial proceeding pending before that judge. For purposes 38 of subdivision two of this section, "following" shall include the unau- 39 thorized tracking of such person's movements or location through the use 40 of a global positioning system or other device and (ii) any posting on 41 social networking websites of personal information shall be considered a 42 "course of conduct" when the defendant has been notified that the indi- 43 vidual whose personal information has been posted has requested the 44 dissemination cease and/or the posting be deleted or otherwise removed 45 from online publication and seventy-two hours have elapsed without such 46 cessation, deletion, or removal being either requested or completed. 47 § 7. Subdivision 5 of section 120.55 of the penal law, as added by 48 chapter 598 of the laws of 2003, is amended and a new subdivision 6 is 49 added to read as follows: 50 5. Commits the crime of stalking in the third degree, as defined in 51 subdivision three of section 120.50 of this article, against ten or more 52 persons, in ten or more separate transactions, for which the actor has 53 not been previously convicted[.]; or 54 6. Commits the crime of stalking in the fourth degree, as defined in 55 section 120.45 of this article, against a judge or a member of a judge's 56 immediate family.A. 7600 6 1 § 8. Section 120.60 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 434 of the 2 laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 120.60 Stalking in the first degree. 4 A person is guilty of stalking in the first degree when he or she: 5 1. commits the crime of stalking in the third degree as defined in 6 subdivision three of section 120.50 or stalking in the second degree as 7 defined in section 120.55 of this article and, in the course and furth- 8 erance thereof, he or she: 9 [1.] (a) intentionally or recklessly causes physical injury to the 10 victim of such crime; or 11 [2.] (b) commits a class A misdemeanor defined in article one hundred 12 thirty of this chapter, or a class E felony defined in section 130.25, 13 130.40 or 130.85 of this chapter, or a class D felony defined in section 14 130.30 or 130.45 of this chapter, or 15 2. commits the crime of stalking in the second degree, as defined in 16 subdivision six of section 120.55, and has previously been convicted of 17 an offense defined under sections 120.45, 120.50, 120.55, or 120.60 of 18 this article within the prior five years. 19 Stalking in the first degree is a class D felony. 20 § 9. Notwithstanding provisions of the election law to the contrary, 21 where a board of elections receives a notification pursuant to paragraph 22 (b) of subdivision 2 or subdivision 3 of section 858 of the judiciary 23 law, as added by section two of this act, the board shall comply there- 24 with except that, where the notification requires the board to cease 25 making a person's address public, the board shall not comply therewith 26 until such time as any period prescribed by law for a challenge to such 27 person as a candidate for political office on the basis of his or her 28 residence shall have expired. 29 § 10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where the state 30 department of motor vehicles receives a notification pursuant to para- 31 graph (b) of subdivision 2 or subdivision 3 of section 858 of the judi- 32 ciary law, as added by section two of this act, the department shall 33 comply therewith except that, where the notification requires the 34 department to cease making a person's address public, the department may 35 make public his or her business address. 36 § 11. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 37 have become a law; provided, however, the provisions of sections three, 38 four, five, six, seven and eight of this act shall not take effect until 39 the first day of November next succeeding the ninetieth day following 40 the date on which this act shall become a law.
