Bill Text: NY S01815 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Requires the district attorney to notify victims by letter of the final disposition of the case within sixty days of such disposition in cases where such final disposition includes a conviction; provides such letter shall also notify victims of their right to make a victim impact statement; allows them to personally appear at parole hearings and make such a statement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-04 - ADVANCED TO THIRD READING [S01815 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01815-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1815

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 17, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law,  in  relation  to  requiring
          victims  be  informed of their right to make a victim impact statement
          to the division of parole and to appear at parole hearings

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 1 of section 440.50 of the criminal procedure
     2  law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended  to  read
     3  as follows:
     4    1.  [Upon  the  request of a victim of a crime, or in any event in all
     5  cases in which the final disposition includes a conviction of a  violent
     6  felony  offense  as  defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, a felony
     7  defined in article one hundred twenty-five of  such  law,  or  a  felony
     8  defined  in article one hundred thirty of such law, the] In all cases in
     9  which the final disposition includes a conviction, the district attorney
    10  shall, within sixty days of [the] such final disposition [of the  case],
    11  inform  the  victim by letter of such [final disposition] conviction. If
    12  such final disposition results in the commitment of the defendant to the
    13  custody of the department of corrections and community  supervision  for
    14  an indeterminate sentence, the notice provided to the crime victim shall
    15  also  inform  the victim of his or her right to submit a written, audio-
    16  taped, or videotaped  victim  impact  statement  to  the  department  of
    17  corrections  and  community  supervision  or  to  meet personally with a
    18  member of the state board of parole at a time and  place  separate  from
    19  the  personal interview between a member or members of the board and the
    20  incarcerated individual and make such a statement, subject to procedures
    21  and limitations contained in rules of the board, both pursuant to subdi-
    22  vision two of section two hundred fifty-nine-i of the executive  law.  A
    23  copy  of such letter shall be provided to the board of parole. The right
    24  of the victim under this subdivision to submit a written  victim  impact

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05783-01-3
        S. 1815                             2

     1  statement  or  to  meet  personally  with a member of the state board of
     2  parole applies to each personal interview between a member or members of
     3  the board and the incarcerated individual.   The victim  shall  also  be
     4  informed  of their right to voluntarily appear at the incarcerated indi-
     5  vidual's personal interview and make a statement  before  the  board  of
     6  parole while such individual is present.
     7    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.