STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9965
IN ASSEMBLY
June 4, 2014
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Lentol) --
(at request of the Department of Law) -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the court of claims act, in relation to claims for
unjust conviction and imprisonment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Unjust
2 Imprisonment Act of 2014".
3 § 2. Subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 8-b of the court of
4 claims act, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 210 of the laws of 2007,
5 and subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 as added by chapter 1009 of the laws
6 of 1984, are amended, and a new subdivision 5-a is added to read as
7 follows:
8 2. Any person convicted and subsequently imprisoned for one or more
9 felonies or misdemeanors against the state which he or she did not
10 commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided, present a claim
11 for damages against the state. In scheduling court appearances and
12 filing deadlines, the court shall give docket priority at each stage of
13 the proceeding to such claims for damages under this subdivision where
14 the claimant asserts proof of innocence through DNA evidence. Any
15 adjournments granted in the course of such a proceeding should be for as
16 short a time as is practicable.
17 3. In order to present the claim for unjust conviction and imprison-
18 ment, claimant must establish by documentary evidence that:
19 (a) he or she has been convicted of one or more felonies or misdemea-
20 nors against the state and subsequently sentenced to a term of imprison-
21 ment, and has served all or any part of the sentence; and
22 (b) (i) he or she has been pardoned upon the ground of innocence of
23 the crime or crimes for which he or she was sentenced and which are the
24 grounds for the complaint; or (ii) his or her judgment of conviction was
25 reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument dismissed or, if a
26 new trial was ordered, either he or she was found not guilty at the new
27 trial or he or she was not retried and the accusatory instrument
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14015-05-4
A. 9965 2
1 dismissed; provided that the [judgement] judgment of conviction was
2 reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument was dismissed, on any
3 of the following grounds: (A) paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) [or],
4 (f), (g), (g-1), or (h) of subdivision one of section 440.10 of the
5 criminal procedure law; or (B) subdivision one (where based upon grounds
6 set forth in [item (A) hereof] clause (A) of this subparagraph), two,
7 three (where the count dismissed was the sole basis for the imprisonment
8 complained of) or five of section 470.20 of the criminal procedure law;
9 or (C) comparable provisions of the former code of criminal procedure or
10 subsequent law; or (D) the statute, or application thereof, on which the
11 accusatory instrument was based violated the constitution of the United
12 States or the state of New York; and
13 (c) his or her claim is not time-barred by the provisions of subdivi-
14 sion seven of this section.
15 4. The claim shall state facts in sufficient detail to permit the
16 court to find that claimant is likely to succeed at trial in proving
17 that (a) he or she did not commit any of the criminal acts charged in
18 the accusatory instrument and submitted to the fact finder, or contained
19 in the accusatory instrument before the court that accepted the claim-
20 ant's plea of guilty, as the case may be, or his or her acts or alleged
21 omissions [charged in the accusatory instrument] so submitted or
22 contained, as the case may be, did not constitute a felony or misdemea-
23 nor against the state, and (b) he or she did not by his or her own
24 [conduct] misconduct cause or bring about his or her conviction. For
25 purposes of this subdivision, a confession, admission or plea of guilty
26 made or entered by the claimant may not be considered evidence of
27 misconduct unless such confession, admission or plea of guilty was made
28 or entered knowingly, voluntarily, without duress and with the intent to
29 prevent the investigation or prosecution: (i) of the claimant for a
30 crime unrelated to the crime or crimes that were the subject of such
31 confession, admission or plea of guilty; or (ii) of another person who
32 claimant, at the time of such confession, admission or plea, believed to
33 be the perpetrator of the crime or crimes that were the subject of such
34 confession, admission or plea. The claim shall be verified by the claim-
35 ant; provided that notwithstanding the provisions of any other law,
36 dismissal for failure to verify a claim pursuant to this subdivision,
37 where such dismissal occurs on or after the first day of February, two
38 thousand fourteen, shall be without prejudice and the claimant shall be
39 given leave to amend his or her claim within six months of such dismiss-
40 al without prejudice. If the court finds after reading the claim that
41 claimant is not likely to succeed at trial, it shall dismiss the claim,
42 either on its own motion or on the motion of the state.
43 5. In order to obtain a judgment in his or her favor, claimant must
44 prove by clear and convincing evidence that:
45 (a) he or she has been convicted of one or more felonies or misdemea-
46 nors against the state and subsequently sentenced to a term of imprison-
47 ment, and has served all or any part of the sentence; and
48 (b) (i) he or she has been pardoned upon the ground of innocence of
49 the crime or crimes for which he or she was sentenced and which are the
50 grounds for the complaint; or (ii) his or her judgment of conviction was
51 reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument dismissed or, if a
52 new trial was ordered, either [he] the claimant was found not guilty at
53 the new trial or he or she was not retried and the accusatory instrument
54 dismissed; provided that the [judgement] judgment of conviction was
55 reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument was dismissed, on any
56 of the following grounds: (A) paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) [or],
A. 9965 3
1 (f), (g), (g-1) or (h) of subdivision one of section 440.10 of the crim-
2 inal procedure law; or (B) subdivision one (where based upon grounds set
3 forth in [item (A) hereof] clause (A) of this subparagraph), two, three
4 (where the count dismissed was the sole basis for the imprisonment
5 complained of) or five of section 470.20 of the criminal procedure law;
6 or (C) comparable provisions of the former code of criminal procedure or
7 subsequent law; or (D) the statute, or application thereof, on which the
8 accusatory instrument was based violated the constitution of the United
9 States or the state of New York; and
10 (c) he or she did not commit any of the criminal acts charged in the
11 accusatory instrument and submitted to the fact finder, or contained in
12 the accusatory instrument before the court that accepted the claimant's
13 plea of guilty, as the case may be, or his or her acts or alleged omis-
14 sions [charged in the accusatory instrument] so submitted or contained,
15 as the case may be, did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor against
16 the state; and
17 (d) [he] the claimant did not by his or her own [conduct] misconduct
18 cause or bring about his or her conviction. For purposes of this para-
19 graph, a confession, admission or plea of guilty made or entered by the
20 claimant may not be considered evidence of misconduct unless such
21 confession, admission or plea of guilty was made or entered knowingly,
22 voluntarily, without duress and with the intent to prevent the investi-
23 gation or prosecution: (i) of the claimant for a crime unrelated to the
24 crime or crimes that were the subject of such confession, admission or
25 plea of guilty; or (ii) of another person who claimant, at the time of
26 such confession, admission or plea, believed to be the perpetrator of
27 the crime or crimes that were the subject of such confession, admission
28 or plea.
29 5-a. A determination of a criminal court made prior to the conviction
30 and imprisonment of the claimant that a written or oral confession,
31 admission, or other statement or expression allegedly made by the claim-
32 ant was not involuntarily made pursuant to section 60.45 of the criminal
33 procedure law or otherwise, shall not be admissible in any proceeding
34 under this section as evidence that the claimant caused or brought about
35 his or her own conviction.
36 6. If the court finds that the claimant is entitled to a judgment, it
37 shall award damages in such sum of money as the court determines will
38 fairly and reasonably compensate him or her.
39 7. Any person claiming compensation under this section based on a
40 pardon that was granted before the effective date of this section or the
41 dismissal of an accusatory instrument that occurred before the effective
42 date of this section shall file his or her claim within two years after
43 the effective date of this section. Any person claiming compensation
44 under this section based on a pardon that was granted on or after the
45 effective date of this section or the dismissal of an accusatory instru-
46 ment that occurred on or after the effective date of this section shall
47 file his or her claim within [two] three years after the pardon or
48 dismissal; provided, however, that if retrial is permitted following
49 such pardon or dismissal, the period within which such claim must be
50 filed shall be tolled during the period in which such a retrial is
51 permissible and provided, further, that upon motion or notice by the
52 state to the court of claims alleging that a retrial is contemplated,
53 the court of claims may hold further proceedings on any such claim that
54 has been filed in abeyance until the conclusion of the retrial or until
55 a retrial is no longer contemplated, which ever first occurs.
56 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
