Establishes definitions with respect to larceny from mentally disabled or mentally incapacitated persons; sets forth an affirmative defense if the defendant appropriated the property in the course of rendering assistance which benefitted such person in the management of his or her affairs and the value of such property was commensurate with the benefit conferred.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2585
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 21, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CLARK, CANESTRARI, CARROZZA -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. BUTLER, COLTON, COOK, DESTITO, GALEF, MAGEE, MAYERSOHN,
NOLAN, SCARBOROUGH, SWEENEY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to creating definitions with
respect to larceny from a mentally disabled or mentally incapacitated
person and establishing an affirmative defense thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 155.00 of the penal law is amended by adding two
2 new subdivisions 10 and 11 to read as follows:
3 10. "Mentally disabled" means that a person suffers from a mental
4 disease, defect or condition which renders him or her incapable of
5 appraising whether to give or withhold consent to the taking, obtaining
6 or withholding of his or her property.
7 11. "Mentally incapacitated" means that a person is rendered incapable
8 of appraising whether to give or withhold consent to the taking, obtain-
9 ing or withholding of his or her property owing to the influence of a
10 controlled or intoxicating substance.
11 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 155.05 of the penal law
12 is amended to read as follows:
13 (a) By conduct heretofore defined or known as common law larceny by
14 trespassory taking, common law larceny by trick, embezzlement, or
15 obtaining property by false pretenses, and such conduct includes but is
16 not limited to, the wrongful taking, obtaining or withholding of proper-
17 ty by a person who knows or has reason to know that the owner is a
18 mentally disabled or mentally incapacitated person;
19 § 3. Section 155.15 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
20 vision 3 to read as follows:
21 3. In any prosecution for larceny committed by trespassory taking or
22 embezzlement from a mentally disabled or mentally incapacitated person,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04627-01-9
A. 2585 2
1 it is an affirmative defense that the defendant appropriated such prop-
2 erty in the course of rendering assistance which benefitted such person
3 in the management of his or her affairs, and the value of such property
4 was commensurate with the benefit conferred.
5 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
6 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
