Bill Text: NY S03667 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enables victims and relatives of victims to view parole hearings via closed circuit television or a secure online website.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-04-11 - referred to correction [S03667 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S03667-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3667
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 13, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,  Crime  and
         Correction
       AN  ACT  to  amend  the executive law and the criminal procedure law, in
         relation to enabling  victims  to  view  parole  hearings  via  closed
         circuit television or a secure online website
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Section 259-c of the executive law is amended by  adding  a
    2  new subdivision 18 to read as follows:
    3    18. PERMIT VICTIMS AND RELATIVES OF VICTIMS TO VIEW AN INMATE'S PAROLE
    4  HEARING RELATING TO THEIR CASE VIA CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION OR A SECURE
    5  ONLINE WEBSITE.
    6    S  2.  Subdivision  3 of section 641 of the executive law, as added by
    7  chapter 94 of the laws of 1984 and paragraph (d) as amended  by  chapter
    8  618 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
    9    3.  Ensure  notification  of  victims,  witnesses,  relatives of those
   10  victims and witnesses who are minors, and relatives of homicide victims,
   11  if such persons provide the appropriate official with a current  address
   12  and  telephone number, either by phone or by mail, if possible, of judi-
   13  cial proceedings relating to their case, including:
   14    (a) the arrest of an accused;
   15    (b) the initial appearance of an accused before a judicial officer;
   16    (c) the release of an accused pending judicial proceedings; [and]
   17    (d) proceedings in the prosecution of the accused including entry of a
   18  plea of guilty, trial, sentencing,  but  prior  to  sentencing  specific
   19  information  shall  be  provided regarding the right to seek restitution
   20  and reparation, and where a term of imprisonment  is  imposed,  specific
   21  information  shall  be  provided  regarding maximum and minimum terms of
   22  such imprisonment; AND
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07993-01-5
       S. 3667                             2
    1    (E) THE DATE AND TIME OF ANY PAROLE HEARING AS WELL AS THE LOCATION AT
    2  WHICH THE VICTIM AND RELATIVES OF THE VICTIM MAY  VIEW  THE  HEARING  ON
    3  CLOSED  CIRCUIT  TELEVISION  OR  THE  SECURE ONLINE WEBSITE ON WHICH THE
    4  HEARING MAY BE VIEWED.
    5    S 3. Subdivision 1 of section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law, as
    6  amended  by  section 80 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws
    7  of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
    8    1. Upon the request of a victim of a crime, or in  any  event  in  all
    9  cases  in which the final disposition includes a conviction of a violent
   10  felony offense as defined in section 70.02 of the penal law or a  felony
   11  defined  in  article  one  hundred twenty-five of such law, the district
   12  attorney shall, within sixty days of the final disposition of the  case,
   13  inform  the  victim  by  letter of such final disposition. If such final
   14  disposition results in the commitment of the defendant to the custody of
   15  the department of corrections and community supervision for an  indeter-
   16  minate  sentence,  the  notice  provided  to the crime victim shall also
   17  inform the victim of his or her right to submit a  written,  audiotaped,
   18  or  videotaped  victim impact statement to the department of corrections
   19  and community supervision or to meet personally with  a  member  of  the
   20  state  board  of  parole  at a time and place separate from the personal
   21  interview between a member or members of the board and  the  inmate  and
   22  make  such  a statement, subject to procedures and limitations contained
   23  in rules of the board, both pursuant to subdivision two of  section  two
   24  hundred fifty-nine-i of the executive law. The right of the victim under
   25  this  subdivision to submit a written victim impact statement or to meet
   26  personally with a member of the state board of parole  applies  to  each
   27  personal  interview  between  a  member  or members of the board and the
   28  inmate.  THE NOTICE TO THE VICTIM SHALL ALSO INFORM THE VICTIM OF HIS OR
   29  HER RIGHT TO VIEW THE DEFENDANT'S PAROLE HEARING ON CLOSED CIRCUIT TELE-
   30  VISION OR OVER A SECURE ONLINE WEBSITE AND SHALL INFORM  THE  VICTIM  OF
   31  THE INTENDED DATE AND TIME OF THE PAROLE HEARING AS WELL AS THE LOCATION
   32  OR WEBSITE ADDRESS AT WHICH THE VICTIM MAY VIEW THE HEARING.
   33    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.