Bill Text: NY S00790 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires orders of protection and temporary orders of protection issued in family court or in cases of family offenses in criminal court or in matrimonial actions to be translated by an interpreter into the native language of the parties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S00790 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S00790-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 790--B Cal. No. 424 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 4, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. ALCANTARA, HAMILTON, RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, amended on second report, ordered to a third read- ing, and to be reprinted as amended, retaining its place in the order of third reading -- again amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, the family court act, the domestic relations law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to the translation of orders of protection and temporary orders of protection The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (t) of subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judi- 2 ciary law, as added by chapter 237 of the laws of 2015, is relettered 3 paragraph (u). 4 § 2. Paragraph (t) of subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judiciary 5 law, as added by chapter 367 of the laws of 2015, is relettered para- 6 graph (v) and two new paragraphs (t) and (t-1) are added to read as 7 follows: 8 (t) Make available translation services to all family and supreme 9 courts to assist in the translation of orders of protection and tempo- 10 rary orders of protection, as provided in this paragraph, where the 11 person protected by and/or the person subject to the order of protection 12 has limited English proficiency or has a limited ability to read 13 English: 14 (i) Translation services shall be made available to all family and 15 supreme courts in the ten languages most frequently used in the courts 16 of each judicial department in accordance with the schedule in subpara- 17 graph (ii) of this paragraph, and any additional languages that the 18 chief administrator of the courts deems appropriate; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00008-04-7S. 790--B 2 1 (ii) (A) In three languages from among the ten most frequently used in 2 the courts of each judicial department, by January first, two thousand 3 eighteen; 4 (B) In three additional languages from among the ten most frequently 5 used in the courts of each judicial department, by June thirtieth, two 6 thousand nineteen; and 7 (C) In four additional languages from among the ten most frequently 8 used in the courts of each judicial department, by December thirty- 9 first, two thousand twenty; and 10 (iii) Upon issuance of an order of protection or temporary order of 11 protection, the court shall inquire of any person who is protected by it 12 or subject to it, who has made an appearance, whether translation 13 services are needed. The court shall advise the party or parties of the 14 availability of such translation services; 15 (iv) The authority provided by this paragraph shall be in addition to, 16 and shall not be deemed to diminish or reduce any rights of the parties 17 under existing law. 18 (t-1) Issue reports concerning the availability of translation 19 services where orders of protection and temporary orders of protection 20 are issued; special pilot programs. (i) The chief administrator of the 21 courts shall submit to the legislature, the governor, and the chief 22 judge of the state the following reports: 23 (A) Not later than April first, two thousand nineteen, a report on the 24 availability and use of translation services in the courts for orders of 25 protection and temporary orders of protection, including but not limited 26 to the languages for which written and oral translation is provided; the 27 number of parties that received translated documents, broken down by 28 language and judicial department; the number of parties receiving inter- 29 pretation, broken down by language and judicial department; the number 30 of people who requested a translated document and did not receive it; 31 and the number of cases in which a court interpreter was used to commu- 32 nicate with either party and an order of protection or temporary order 33 of protection was issued but in which a translated document was not 34 provided to either party. Such report shall contain recommendations for 35 further legislation relating to the availability of such translation 36 services as the chief administrator of the courts shall deem appropri- 37 ate; and 38 (B) Not later than April first, two thousand eighteen, a report evalu- 39 ating the technical and operational issues involved in subjecting the 40 following orders of protection and temporary orders of protection to the 41 same requirements, relative to translation and interpretation of such 42 orders, as are applicable to orders of protection and temporary orders 43 of protection issued under section one hundred sixty-nine of the family 44 court act: (I) orders of protection and temporary orders of protection 45 issued under section 530.12 or 530.13 of the criminal procedure law; and 46 (II) orders of protection and temporary orders of protection issued by a 47 town or village justice court. 48 (ii) The office of court administration shall establish and oversee 49 two pilot programs, as follows: 50 (A) In one town or village court within each judicial district, to 51 develop best practices for the use of written translation and interpre- 52 tation services for orders of protection and temporary orders of 53 protection in the justice courts. Following consultation with the state 54 magistrates association, the conference of mayors, the association of 55 towns, the unified court system's advisory committee on language access, 56 and such other parties as may be interested, the chief administratorS. 790--B 3 1 shall include an analysis and evaluation of this pilot program, together 2 with a plan for its expansion throughout the justice court system, in 3 the report required pursuant to clause (B) of subparagraph (i) of this 4 paragraph. 5 (B) In one county in the city of New York and two counties outside 6 such city, to develop best practices for the use of written translation 7 and interpretation services for orders of protection and temporary 8 orders of protection issued in the state-paid criminal courts of such 9 counties. Following consultation with the state district attorneys asso- 10 ciation, representatives of the criminal defense bar, representatives of 11 domestic violence prevention legal services providers, the unified court 12 system's advisory committee on language access, and such other parties 13 as may be interested, the chief administrator shall include an analysis 14 and evaluation of this pilot program, together with a plan for its 15 expansion throughout the state, in the report required pursuant to 16 clause (B) of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. 17 § 3. The family court act is amended by adding a new section 169 to 18 read as follows: 19 § 169. Translation and interpretation of orders of protection. The 20 office of court administration shall, in accordance with paragraph (t) 21 of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law, 22 ensure that a court order of protection and temporary order of 23 protection issued by the court under article three, four, five, six, 24 seven, eight or ten of this act, is translated in writing into the 25 appropriate language for a party to a proceeding where the court has 26 appointed an interpreter. The office of court administration shall 27 ensure that the standard language of the office of court administration 28 order of protection and temporary order of protection forms shall be 29 translated in writing in the languages most frequently used in the 30 courts of each judicial department in accordance with paragraph (t) of 31 subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law. A 32 copy of the written translation shall be given to each party in the 33 proceeding, along with the original order or temporary order of 34 protection issued in English. A copy of this written translation shall 35 also be included as part of the record of the proceeding. The court 36 shall read the essential terms and conditions of the order aloud on the 37 record and direct the court appointed interpreter to interpret the same 38 terms and conditions. Such written translation or interpretation shall 39 not affect the validity or enforceability of the order. In every case a 40 party to a proceeding shall be provided with an English copy of any 41 court order of protection or temporary order of protection issued. The 42 authority provided herein shall be in addition to and shall not be 43 deemed to diminish or reduce any rights of the parties under existing 44 law. 45 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 240 of the domestic relations law is 46 amended by adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows: 47 a-1. Translation and interpretation of orders of protection. The 48 office of court administration shall, in accordance with paragraph (t) 49 of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law, 50 ensure that a court order of protection and temporary order of 51 protection is translated in writing into the appropriate language for a 52 party to a proceeding where the court has appointed an interpreter. The 53 office of court administration shall ensure that the standard language 54 of the office of court administration order of protection and temporary 55 order of protection forms shall be translated in writing in the 56 languages most frequently used in the courts of each judicial departmentS. 790--B 4 1 in accordance with paragraph (t) of subdivision two of section two 2 hundred twelve of the judiciary law. A copy of the written translation 3 shall be given to each party in the proceeding, along with the original 4 order or temporary order of protection issued in English. A copy of 5 this written translation shall also be included as part of the record of 6 the proceeding. The court shall read the essential terms and conditions 7 of the order aloud on the record and direct the court appointed inter- 8 preter to interpret the same terms and conditions. Such written trans- 9 lation or interpretation shall not affect the validity or enforceability 10 of the order. In every case a party to a proceeding shall be provided 11 with an English copy of any court order of protection or temporary order 12 of protection issued. The authority provided herein shall be in addition 13 to and shall not be deemed to diminish or reduce any rights of the 14 parties under existing law. 15 § 5. Section 252 of the domestic relations law is amended by adding a 16 new subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 17 1-a. Translation and interpretation of orders of protection. The 18 office of court administration shall, in accordance with paragraph (t) 19 of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law, 20 ensure that a court order of protection or temporary order of protection 21 is translated in writing into the appropriate language for a party to a 22 proceeding where the court has appointed an interpreter. The office of 23 court administration shall ensure that the standard language of the 24 office of court administration order of protection and temporary order 25 of protection forms shall be translated in writing in the languages most 26 frequently used in the courts of each judicial department in accordance 27 with paragraph (t) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of 28 the judiciary law. A copy of the written translation shall be given to 29 each party in the proceeding, along with the original order or temporary 30 order of protection issued in English. A copy of this written trans- 31 lation shall also be included as part of the record of the proceeding. 32 The court shall read the essential terms and conditions of the order 33 aloud on the record and direct the court appointed interpreter to inter- 34 pret the same terms and conditions. Such written translation or inter- 35 pretation shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the order. 36 In every case a party to a proceeding shall be provided with an English 37 copy of any court order of protection or temporary order of protection 38 issued. The authority provided herein shall be in addition to and shall 39 not be deemed to diminish or reduce any rights of the parties under 40 existing law. 41 § 6. The closing paragraph of subparagraph 2 of paragraph (ii) of 42 subdivision (b) of section 214 of the family court act, as added by 43 chapter 237 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 44 Notwithstanding the foregoing, the chief administrator may not elimi- 45 nate the requirement of consent to participation in a county hereunder 46 until he or she shall have provided all persons or organizations, or 47 their representative or representatives, who regularly appear in 48 proceedings in the family court of such county, in which proceedings the 49 requirement of consent is to be eliminated, with reasonable notice and 50 an opportunity to submit comments with respect thereto and shall have 51 given due consideration to all such comments, nor until he or she shall 52 have consulted with the members of the advisory committee continued 53 pursuant to subparagraph (vi) of paragraph [(t)] (u) of subdivision two 54 of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law.S. 790--B 5 1 § 7. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 2 10.40 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chapter 237 of the laws 3 of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 4 (ii) The chief administrator may eliminate the requirement of consent 5 to participation in this program in supreme and county courts of not 6 more than six counties provided he or she may not eliminate such 7 requirement for a court without the consent of the district attorney, 8 the consent of the criminal defense bar as defined in subdivision three 9 of this section and the consent of the county clerk of the county in 10 which such court presides. 11 Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subparagraph, the 12 chief administrator shall not eliminate the requirement of consent to 13 participation in a county hereunder until he or she shall have provided 14 all persons and organizations, or their representative or represen- 15 tatives, who regularly appear in criminal actions or proceedings in the 16 superior court of such county with reasonable notice and opportunity to 17 submit comments with respect thereto and shall have given due consider- 18 ation to all such comments, nor until he or she shall have consulted 19 with the members of the advisory committee specified in subparagraph (v) 20 of paragraph [(t)] (u) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve 21 of the judiciary law. 22 § 8. The chief administrator of the courts may promulgate rules and 23 regulations in order to effectuate the provisions of this act, and, to 24 the extent necessary and appropriate, exercise his or her authority 25 pursuant to paragraph (l) of subdivision 1 of section 212 of the judici- 26 ary law to the same end. 27 § 9. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 28 have become a law and shall apply to orders of protection issued on or 29 after such effective date; provided that the amendments to section 214 30 of the family court act, made by section six of this act, shall not 31 affect the expiration and reversion of such section, and shall expire 32 therewith; provided, further, that the amendments to subparagraph (ii) 33 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 10.40 of the criminal 34 procedure law made by section seven of this act, shall not affect the 35 expiration and reversion of such section, and shall expire therewith.