STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10622 IN ASSEMBLY June 10, 2020 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Dickens) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to establishing conviction integrity units The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new arti- 2 cle 15 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 15 4 CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNITS 5 Section 15.10 Short title. 6 15.15 Definitions. 7 15.20 Conviction integrity unit. 8 § 15.10 Short title. 9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "conviction integrity 10 units act." 11 § 15.15 Definitions. 12 The following terms shall have the following meanings: 13 1. "Bona fide and compelling evidence" means that the evidence 14 presented by the petitioning prosecutor establishes by a preponderance 15 of the evidence that: 16 (a) the convicted person is significantly likely to be factually inno- 17 cent; 18 (b) newly discovered material evidence, if presented at or before the 19 time of trial, judgment of conviction, or sentencing, would have 20 resulted in a significant probability that the result would have been 21 different; or 22 (c) there exists information discovered or received by the petitioning 23 prosecution agency after a judgment of conviction and sentencing that: 24 (i) if disclosed to the convicted person prior to trial, judgment of 25 conviction, or sentencing, would have resulted in a significant proba- 26 bility that the result would have been different; or 27 (ii) significantly calls into question the legitimacy of the jury 28 verdict, judgment of conviction, or sentence. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16617-01-0A. 10622 2 1 2. "Convicted person" means the person whose conviction or sentence is 2 under review. 3 3. "Conviction integrity unit" means a program established by a prose- 4 cution agency to conduct extrajudicial, fact-based reviews of criminal 5 convictions and sentences. 6 4. "Establishing office" means the prosecution agency establishing a 7 conviction integrity unit. 8 5. "Legitimacy" means consistent with the United States and New York 9 constitutions, federal and state law, and all rules and principles of a 10 fair and just legal system. 11 6. "Petitioning prosecutor" means the prosecutor who files a civil 12 petition seeking relief under this part. 13 7. "Prosecution agency" means a county attorney, district attorney, 14 the office of the attorney general, or other prosecution agency as part 15 of a superior or local criminal court pursuant to article ten of this 16 chapter. 17 8. "Significant" or "significantly likely," for purposes of this part, 18 means to a large degree or of a noticeably or measurably large amount. 19 § 15.20 Conviction integrity unit. 20 1. A prosecution agency may establish a conviction integrity unit to 21 investigate: 22 (a) plausible allegations of factual innocence; 23 (b) newly discovered material evidence; or 24 (c) information discovered or received by the prosecution agency after 25 trial, judgment of conviction, or sentencing that: 26 (i) if disclosed to the convicted person prior to trial, judgment of 27 conviction, or sentencing, would have resulted in a significant proba- 28 bility that the result would have been different; or 29 (ii) significantly calls into question the legitimacy of the jury 30 verdict, judgment of conviction, or sentence. 31 2. A conviction integrity unit may review a conviction or sentence if 32 the conviction and sentence: 33 (a) (i) occurred within the judicial district of the establishing 34 office; and 35 (ii) was prosecuted by the establishing office or another prosecution 36 agency under the direct control and supervision of the establishing 37 office; or 38 (b) (i) occurred within a different judicial district or was prose- 39 cuted by another prosecution agency not under the direct control and 40 supervision of the establishing office; 41 (ii) (A) the prosecution agency that prosecuted the case has not 42 established a conviction integrity unit; or 43 (B) the prosecution agency that prosecuted the case has established a 44 conviction integrity unit but determines that review of the conviction 45 or sentence should be conducted by a conviction integrity unit estab- 46 lished by another prosecution agency; and 47 (iii) the district attorney, county attorney, attorney general, or 48 other prosecutor that directly oversees and supervises the requesting 49 agency requests the review. 50 3. (a) An individual convicted of a crime may submit an application to 51 a conviction integrity unit requesting review of the individual's 52 conviction or sentence as provided in subdivision two of this section. 53 (b) If a convicted person submits an application for review of a 54 conviction that resulted in a sentence of death, and the application is 55 submitted to any conviction integrity unit other than a conviction 56 integrity unit established by the office of the attorney general, theA. 10622 3 1 conviction integrity unit that receives the application shall forward 2 copies of the application to the office of the attorney general and to 3 the convicted person's current counsel of record. 4 (c) If a conviction integrity unit other than a conviction integrity 5 unit established by the office of the attorney general, undertakes any 6 review of a conviction that resulted in a sentence of death, the 7 conviction integrity unit shall send the findings and recommendations 8 promptly upon completion to the office of the attorney general and to 9 the convicted person's current counsel of record. 10 (d) If a conviction integrity unit other than a conviction integrity 11 unit established by the office of the attorney general discovers or 12 receives any information relevant to a conviction that resulted in a 13 sentence of death, the conviction integrity unit that discovers or 14 receives the information shall promptly notify the office of the attor- 15 ney general and the convicted person's current counsel of record. 16 4. The form of the application for review and its contents shall be 17 determined by the establishing office. 18 5. Once the review is complete, the conviction integrity unit shall 19 present its findings and recommendations to: 20 (a) the district attorney, county attorney, attorney general, or other 21 prosecutor who directly oversees and supervises the establishing office; 22 or 23 (b) if the review was requested by another prosecution agency under 24 paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section, the district attorney, 25 county attorney, attorney general, or other prosecutor who directly 26 oversees and supervises the prosecution agency that requested such 27 review. 28 6. The district attorney, county attorney, attorney general, or other 29 prosecutor who directly oversees and supervises the establishing office, 30 or who requested review under paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this 31 section, is not required to accept or follow the findings and recommen- 32 dations of the conviction integrity unit. 33 7. The district attorney, county attorney, attorney general, or other 34 prosecutor who directly oversees and supervises the establishing office, 35 or who requested review under paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this 36 section, may commence a civil proceeding by filing a petition in the 37 superior court with jurisdiction over the case seeking a court order to: 38 (a) vacate the conviction; 39 (b) vacate the conviction and order a new trial; 40 (c) vacate the sentence and order further proceedings; or 41 (d) modify the conviction or sentence. 42 8. The decision to petition the superior court under subdivision seven 43 of this section is solely within the discretion of the district attor- 44 ney, county attorney, attorney general, or other prosecutor who directly 45 oversees and supervises the establishing office, or who requested the 46 review under paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section. 47 9. Except as otherwise provided in this part, a petition filed with 48 the superior court shall comply with the provisions of this chapter, and 49 shall include the number of the underlying criminal case that resulted 50 in the judgment of conviction or sentence in connection with which the 51 petitioning prosecutor seeks relief from the court. 52 10. If a petition is filed under subdivision seven of this section the 53 petitioning prosecutor shall promptly: 54 (a) notify the convicted person, in writing, that the petition has 55 been filed and provide the convicted person with a copy of the petition 56 and all other documents filed in support of the petition;A. 10622 4 1 (b) notify the victim or the victim's representative, if any, in writ- 2 ing, that a petition has been filed, provide the victim or the victim's 3 representative, if any, with a copy of the petition and all other docu- 4 ments filed in support, and advise the victim or the victim's represen- 5 tative of the victim's right to be heard by the court under subdivision 6 thirteen of this section; and 7 (c) if the underlying conviction was a felony offense, notify the 8 office of the attorney general, in writing, that the petition has been 9 filed and provide the attorney general with a copy of the petition and 10 all other documents filed in support. 11 11. If a petition is filed pursuant to subdivision seven of this 12 section, the office of the attorney general has standing to intervene as 13 of right and to participate as a party in the superior court proceeding 14 if: 15 (a) the convicted person submitted an application under paragraph (a) 16 of subdivision three of this section requesting review of the person's 17 conviction or sentence by the conviction integrity unit; 18 (b) the conviction integrity unit undertook review of the convicted 19 person's conviction or sentence as a result of the convicted person's 20 application; and 21 (c) the office of the attorney general reasonably believes the relief 22 requested by the petitioning prosecutor would be barred if the petition 23 were filed or the relief were requested directly by the convicted 24 person. 25 12. Upon review of the petition, the superior court may: 26 (a) dismiss the petition as provided in subdivision fourteen of this 27 section; 28 (b) require that additional evidence be submitted; 29 (c) conduct an evidentiary hearing; or 30 (d) grant the relief requested by the petitioning prosecution agency, 31 or any other relief expressly permitted by this part, if by a preponder- 32 ance of the evidence the petition presents: 33 (i) bona fide and compelling evidence that the convicted person is 34 significantly likely to be factually innocent; 35 (ii) bona fide and compelling newly discovered material evidence; or 36 (iii) bona fide and compelling information discovered or received by 37 the petitioning prosecution agency after the trial, judgment of 38 conviction, and sentencing that: 39 (A) if disclosed to the convicted person prior to trial, judgment of 40 conviction, or sentencing, would have resulted in a significant proba- 41 bility that the result would have been different; or 42 (B) significantly calls into question the legitimacy of the jury 43 verdict, judgment of conviction, or sentence. 44 13. If the court requests additional information or holds an evidenti- 45 ary hearing, the convicted person, and the victim or the victim's repre- 46 sentative, if any, and, if notice to the office of the attorney general 47 was required under paragraph (c) of subdivision ten of this section, the 48 attorney general, shall have the right to be heard by the superior 49 court, through written submissions or testimony. 50 14. A superior court may dismiss a petition without a hearing if the 51 court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the petition fails 52 to assert grounds on which relief may be granted. 53 15. In granting relief under this part, the superior court may: 54 (a) vacate the conviction; 55 (b) vacate the conviction and order a new trial; 56 (c) vacate the sentence and order further proceedings; orA. 10622 5 1 (d) modify the conviction or sentence. 2 16. The superior court shall state on the record the reasons for the 3 court's decision. 4 17. (a) An appeal may be taken by the petitioning prosecutor from a 5 final order entered under this part. 6 (b) If notice to the office of the attorney general was required under 7 paragraph (c) of subdivision ten of this section, the petitioning prose- 8 cutor shall consult with the attorney general prior to filing an appeal 9 and, if an appeal is filed by the petitioning prosecutor, the office of 10 the attorney general has standing to intervene as of right and to 11 participate as a party in all appellate proceedings. 12 18. Attorney fees, costs, orders of restitution, or any other form of 13 monetary relief are not available under this article. 14 19. Nothing in this section: 15 (a) precludes a conviction integrity unit from reviewing a conviction 16 or sentence based on information discovered or received directly by the 17 establishing office or received from an individual other than the 18 convicted individual; 19 (b) prohibits an establishing office from adopting additional written 20 criteria for the convictions or sentences the establishing office will 21 review or will decline to review; or 22 (c) requires a conviction integrity unit to review any conviction or 23 sentence. 24 20. Nothing in this article: 25 (a) including review by a conviction integrity unit or the filing of a 26 petition under subdivision seven of this section, may operate to stay 27 any other proceeding, or to extend, toll, or otherwise alter any other 28 deadline or limitation period under the provisions of this chapter; 29 (b) may revive a claim or cause of action or implicate a defense 30 otherwise available to the state under any other provision of this chap- 31 ter, or any other applicable provision of law; or 32 (c) confers standing or creates a private right of action for a 33 convicted person or victim of a convicted person. 34 21. Relief under this section does not exclude any other available 35 remedy. 36 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 37 it shall have become a law.