Provides that a city, town or village court may not order recognizance or bail when it appears the defendant has two previous felony convictions pursuant to certain provisions of the penal law.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9281
SPONSOR: Lentol TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to setting bail in city, town and village courts
This measure is being introduced at the request of the Chief Administra-
tive Judge upon the recommendation of her Advisory Committee on Criminal
Law and Procedure.
This measure would amend section 530.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law to
clarify that city, town and village courts are permitted to set bail or
recognizance on a defendant charged with a felony except where a defend-
ant qualifies for a sentence of life imprisonment.
Under current law, there are two occasions where a city, town or village
court may not set bail when a defendant is charged by felony complaint
with a felony: (1) where defendant is charged with a class A felony; or
(2) where "it appears that the defendant has two previous felony
convictions" (CPL 530.20(2)(a)). Legislative history suggests that the
intent of these limitations was to prevent certain city, town or village
courts from setting bail for a defendant facing life imprisonment either
because the defendant was charged with a class A felony or otherwise
would qualify for a life sentence as a persistent felony offender or
persistent violent felony offender. It was never meant to preclude bail
or recognizance for defendants who have more than one prior felony
conviction, yet do not qualify for life sentences.
The predecessor draft to the current provision originated in a 1968
Criminal Procedure Law Study Bill. That draft prohibited all local crim-
inal courts (except Superior Courts sitting as local criminal courts)
from setting bail on a defendant accused of a felony when charged with a
class A felony or who previously had two felony convictions, but was
worded so that the prior felony convictions came "within the meaning of
subdivision one of sections 70.10 of the penal law." The reference to
Penal Law 70.10 (the only persistent felony statute at the time) effec-
tively limited the reach of the proposed statute to offenders facing
life imprisonment. The following year, the Temporary Revision of the
Penal Law and Criminal Code revised the Criminal Procedure Law Study
Bill and its draft reflects the current language of the provision, thus
allowing District Courts and the Criminal Court of the City of New. York
to set bail under these circumstances. The Temporary Revision draft
eliminated the reference to section 70.10 of the Penal Law. However,
there is no evidence to suggest that the 1969 revision was intended to
broaden the previous limitation that the defendant be facing persistent
felony status. In its memorandum in support and explanation of the 1969
bill, it is plain that the focus of the Temporary Commission was solely
on the courts that would be given jurisdiction to set bail in this
context:
(14) The study bill provisions dealing with bail do not permit any local
criminal court, other than a Supreme Court justice sitting as such, to
fix bail or release on his own recognizance a defendant charged with a
class A felony in or before such court or a defendant charged with a
felony who has two prior felony convictions (S § 285.30(2)). The final
bill changes this rule to some extent by authorizing District Courts and
the New York City Criminal Court - but not city, town or village courts
- to release defendants on bail or recognizance in such circumstances
provided that the district attorney is accorded an opportunity to be
heard in the matter (F § 530.20(2)).
As CPL 530.20(2)(a) is currently interpreted by some city, town and
village courts, it prohibits these courts from setting bail when the
defendant has two previous felony convictions, regardless whether those
convictions qualify for persistent felony status or persistent violent
felony status (see e.g., PL §§ 70.08, 70.10; see also, People v Morse,
72 NY2d 205 (1984)). Our Committee believes that the Legislature never
intended that these courts be stripped of the jurisdiction to set bail
unless a defendant's prior felony convictions could be used for life
imprisonment sentences.
Accordingly, this measure clarifies that the city, town and village
courts may set bail except where a defendant is charged with a Class A
felony or is charged with a felony and has two previous felony
convictions as provided in section 70.08 or 70.10 of the Penal Law.
This measure, which.would have no fiscal impact on the public treasury,
would take effect immediately and apply to all criminal proceedings
commenced on or after such effective date.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None. New proposal.
