New York State Assembly

 
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A02176 Summary:

A02176 Actions:

A02176 Committee Votes:

Committee:CODES   Chair:Lentol      
DATE:05/30/2019AYE/NAY:15/4  Action: Favorable         
Lentol
Aye
Ra
Nay
Schimminger
Aye
Giglio
Excused
Pretlow
Aye
Montesano
Excused
Cook
Aye
Morinello
Nay
Cymbrowitz
Aye
Palumbo
Nay
O'Donnell
Absent
Garbarino
Nay
Lavine
Aye
Perry
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Abinanti
Aye
Weprin
Aye
Mosley
Aye
Hevesi
Aye
Fahy
Aye
Seawright
Aye
Rosenthal
Aye

A02176 Floor Votes:

A02176 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         2176--A
                                                                Cal. No. 484
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 22, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced   by   M.   of   A.   SOLAGES,   CRESPO,   PICHARDO,  LENTOL,
          PEOPLES-STOKES, BICHOTTE, NIOU, BARRON, DAVILA,  DE LA ROSA,  DICKENS,
          EPSTEIN,  FERNANDEZ,  HEVESI,  HYNDMAN,  JAFFEE,  JEAN-PIERRE, MOSLEY,
          O'DONNELL, PRETLOW, RAMOS, ROZIC, SEAWRIGHT, WEPRIN, WILLIAMS, WRIGHT,
          LAVINE, KIM, GOTTFRIED, D'URSO, PERRY,  JOYNER,  ORTIZ,  FAHY,  SIMON,
          BUCHWALD,  LIFTON,  ARROYO, GLICK, L. ROSENTHAL, TAYLOR, CAHILL, COOK,
          RIVERA, OTIS, PAULIN,  SIMOTAS,  CRUZ,  CARROLL,  LUPARDO,  DenDEKKER,
          STIRPE,  RICHARDSON,  JACOBSON, BUTTENSCHON, QUART, ZEBROWSKI, COLTON,
          GALEF, FALL, DINOWITZ, SAYEGH, BRONSON, RAYNOR, BLAKE,  REYES,  VANEL,
          WALKER, NOLAN, TITUS, AUBRY -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Codes  --  reported  from  committee, advanced to a third reading,
          amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place  on  the  order  of
          third reading
 
        AN  ACT to amend the civil rights law and the judiciary law, in relation
          to protecting certain interested parties or people from  civil  arrest
          while  going  to,  remaining  at,  or returning from the place of such
          court proceeding

          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 "protect
     2  our courts act".
     3    § 2. The civil rights law is amended by adding a  new  section  28  to
     4  read as follows:
     5    §  28.  Civil  arrest; certain locations. 1. A person duly and in good
     6  faith attending a court proceeding in which such person is  a  party  or
     7  potential  witness, or a family or household member is a party or poten-
     8  tial witness, is privileged from civil arrest while going to,  remaining
     9  at,  and returning from, the place of such court proceeding, unless such
    10  civil arrest is supported  by  a  judicial  warrant  or  judicial  order
    11  authorizing such civil arrest.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05356-09-9
        A. 2176--A                          2
 
     1    2. It is a contempt of the court and false imprisonment for any person
     2  to willfully violate subdivision one of this section, or an order of the
     3  court issued pursuant to section four-a of the judiciary law, by execut-
     4  ing  an  arrest prohibited by subdivision one of this section or section
     5  four-a of the judiciary law, or willfully assisting an arrest prohibited
     6  by  subdivision  one  of this section or section four-a of the judiciary
     7  law; provided, however, that nothing in this  subdivision  shall  affect
     8  any  right  or  defense  of any person, police officer, peace officer or
     9  public officer pursuant to article thirty-five of the penal law, or  any
    10  unified court system personnel acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to
    11  maintain safety and order in the courts.
    12    3. Regardless of whether a proceeding for contempt of the court pursu-
    13  ant to subdivision two of this section has been initiated:
    14    (a)  a person described in subdivision one of this section may bring a
    15  civil action for appropriate equitable and declaratory  relief  if  such
    16  person has reasonable cause to believe a violation of subdivision one of
    17  this  section,  as  described  in  subdivision two of this section, or a
    18  violation of section four-a of the judiciary law, has  occurred  or  may
    19  occur; and
    20    (b)  the  attorney general may bring a civil action in the name of the
    21  people of the state of New York  to  obtain  appropriate  equitable  and
    22  declaratory  relief  if  the  attorney  general  has reasonable cause to
    23  believe that  a  violation  of  subdivision  one  of  this  section,  as
    24  described  in subdivision two of this section, or a violation of section
    25  four-a of the judiciary law, has occurred or may occur.
    26    4. In any successful action pursuant  to  subdivision  three  of  this
    27  section,  a  plaintiff  or  petitioner  may recover costs and reasonable
    28  attorney's fees.
    29    5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to narrow, or in any way
    30  lessen, any common law or other right or privilege of  a  person  privi-
    31  leged from arrest pursuant to this article or otherwise.
    32    6. As used in this section:
    33    (a) "civil arrest" shall mean an arrest that is not:
    34    (i) for the sole or primary purpose of preparing the person subject to
    35  such  arrest  for  criminal prosecution, for an alleged violation of the
    36  criminal law of:
    37    (A) this state, or another state, for which a sentence of  a  term  of
    38  imprisonment is authorized by law; or
    39    (B)  the United States, for which a sentence of a term of imprisonment
    40  is authorized by law, and for which  federal  law  requires  an  initial
    41  appearance  before a federal judge, federal magistrate or other judicial
    42  officer, pursuant to the federal rules of criminal procedure that govern
    43  initial appearances; or
    44    (ii) for contempt of the court in which the court proceeding is taking
    45  place or will be taking place;
    46    (b) "court proceeding" shall mean any appearance in a  court  of  this
    47  state  before  a  judge  or justice or judicial magistrate of this state
    48  ordered or scheduled by such judge or justice or judicial magistrate, or
    49  the filing of papers designed to initiate such an  appearance  before  a
    50  judge or justice or judicial magistrate of this state;
    51    (c)  "family  or  household  member" shall have the same meaning as in
    52  subdivision two of section  four  hundred  fifty-nine-a  of  the  social
    53  services law; and
    54    (d) "judicial warrant or judicial order authorizing such civil arrest"
    55  means  an arrest warrant or other judicial order, issued by a magistrate
    56  sitting in the judicial branch of a local or state government or of  the
        A. 2176--A                          3
 
     1  federal  government,  authorizing a civil arrest and issued by the court
     2  in which proceedings following such arrest will be heard and determined.
     3    7.  No  action or proceeding may be commenced pursuant to this section
     4  against the unified court system or any unified court  system  personnel
     5  acting  lawfully  pursuant to their duty to maintain safety and order in
     6  the courts.
     7    § 3. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 4-a to  read
     8  as follows:
     9    §  4-a. Certain powers of the courts regarding civil arrests. In order
    10  to maintain access to the court and open judicial  proceedings  for  all
    11  persons  in  their  individual capacity and to prevent interference with
    12  the needs of judicial administration, a court has  the  power  to  issue
    13  appropriate  judicial orders to protect the privilege from civil arrest,
    14  in accordance with article three of the civil rights law.
    15    § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judiciary law is  amended  by
    16  adding a new paragraph (aa) to read as follows:
    17    (aa)  (i)  In  order to maintain access to the court and open judicial
    18  proceedings for all persons in their individual capacity and to  prevent
    19  interference  with the needs of judicial administration, consistent with
    20  section twenty-eight of the civil rights law and section four-a of  this
    21  chapter, shall promulgate rules to ensure the following:
    22    (A)  any  representative of a law enforcement agency who, while acting
    23  in an official capacity, enters a New York state courthouse intending to
    24  observe an individual or take an individual into custody shall  identify
    25  himself  or  herself  to  uniformed court personnel and state his or her
    26  specific law enforcement purpose and the proposed enforcement action  to
    27  be  taken; any such representative who has a warrant or order concerning
    28  such intended arrest shall provide a copy of such warrant  or  order  to
    29  such court personnel;
    30    (B)  any  such  warrant  or order concerning such intended enforcement
    31  action shall be promptly reviewed by a judge or court attorney;
    32    (C) information about any such proposed enforcement  action  shall  be
    33  transmitted  to  and  reviewed  by  appropriate  court system personnel,
    34  including the judge presiding over any case  involving  the  subject  of
    35  that enforcement action;
    36    (D)  except in extraordinary circumstances, no arrest may be made by a
    37  representative of a law enforcement agency in a courtroom  absent  leave
    38  of the court;
    39    (E)  no  civil arrest shall be executed inside a New York state court-
    40  house except pursuant to a judicial warrant or judicial order  authoriz-
    41  ing the arrest;
    42    (F)  an  unusual  occurrence  report  shall  be  filed by court system
    43  personnel for every enforcement  action  taken  inside  the  courthouse,
    44  including  the observation of court proceedings by a representative of a
    45  law enforcement agency acting in such person's official capacity; and
    46    (G) copies of all judicial warrants and judicial orders authorizing an
    47  arrest and provided to court personnel pursuant to  this  paragraph  and
    48  the rules promulgated thereunder shall be maintained by the chief admin-
    49  istrator  in a central record repository, appropriately indexed or filed
    50  alphabetically by name.
    51    (ii) The chief administrator shall publish on the unified court system
    52  website and provide to the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the
    53  temporary president of the senate an annual report compiling statistics,
    54  aggregated by county, setting forth the date each such judicial  warrant
    55  or  judicial  order  was  signed,  the judge and court which issued such
    56  judicial warrant or judicial order and the location  of  such  court  as
        A. 2176--A                          4
 
     1  shown by such document, the date such judicial warrant or judicial order
     2  was  presented to counsel for the unified court system, a description of
     3  the type of judicial warrant or judicial order and, to the extent  known
     4  to  court  personnel,  whether or not an arrest occurred with respect to
     5  such warrant and the date and specific location of such arrest.
     6    § 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
     7  sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
     8  competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
     9  impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
    10  its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
    11  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    12  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    13  the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
    14  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    15    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.