NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5161
SPONSOR: Miller B TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law and the criminal procedure law, in
relation to sex offenders
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To expand coverage of sex offender registration act.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 168-a of the correction law,
which adds the definition "any person against whom a verdict of not
responsible by reason of mental disease or defect is entered or from
whom a plea of not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect is
accepted where the offense of offenses charged in the indictment or
accusatory instrument include any of the offenses set forth in subdivi-
sion two or three if this section".
Section 2 amends subdivision 6 of section 330.20 of the criminal proce-
dure law to require that when a defendant, who was charged as a sex
offender, is found to have a dangerous mental disorder, the commitment
order must order the defendant to comply with the provisions of the sex
offender registry.
Section 3 amends subdivision 7 of section 330.20 of the criminal proce-
dure law to require that when a defendant who was charged as a sex
offender, is found to be mentally ill but not dangerous, or not mentally
ill, the commitment order or conditional release must order the defend-
ant to comply with the provisions of the sex offender registry.
Section 4 contains the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
It is foreseeable that a sex offender who is found not responsible by
reason of mental disease or defect could be released by the mental
health system after receiving treatment or confinement for a period of
time. However, current statute does not require the patient/defendant to
register under Megan's Law because he was never found guilty by the
criminal justice system.In 1979, a particularly brutal sex offender from
Poughkeepsie, New York, who was found not responsible by reason of
mental disease or defect, petitioned a Suffolk. County jury for release
to a group home after twenty years of confinement in a secure facility.
The jury agreed, but the verdict was set aside after an earlier victim
stepped forward to reveal details proving discrepancies in statements
given by the patient/defendant during his treatment. At the very least,
a defendant such as the aforementioned should be required to register
with the sex offender registry upon release or discharge.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2020 referred to correction 2020 held for consideration in correction
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the First of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5161
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. B. MILLER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law and the criminal procedure law, in
relation to sex offenders
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 168-a of the correction law, as
2 added by chapter 192 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
3 1. "Sex offender" includes (a) any person who is convicted of any of
4 the offenses set forth in subdivision two or three of this section; or
5 (b) any person against whom a verdict of not responsible by reason of
6 mental disease or defect is entered or from whom a plea of not responsi-
7 ble by reason of mental disease or defect is accepted where the offense
8 or offenses charged in the indictment or accusatory instrument include
9 any of the offenses set forth in subdivision two or three of this
10 section. Convictions that result from or are connected with the same
11 act, or result from offenses committed at the same time, shall be count-
12 ed for the purpose of this article as one conviction. Any conviction set
13 aside pursuant to law is not a conviction for purposes of this article.
14 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 330.20 of the criminal procedure law, as
15 added by chapter 548 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as follows:
16 6. Initial hearing; commitment order. After the examination reports
17 are submitted, the court must, within ten days of the receipt of such
18 reports, conduct an initial hearing to determine the defendant's present
19 mental condition. If the defendant is in the custody of the commissioner
20 pursuant to an examination order, the court must direct the sheriff to
21 obtain custody of the defendant from the commissioner and to confine the
22 defendant pending further order of the court, except that the court may
23 direct the sheriff to confine the defendant in an institution located
24 near the place where the court sits if that institution has been desig-
25 nated by the commissioner as suitable for the temporary and secure
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08870-01-1
A. 5161 2
1 detention of mentally disabled persons. At such initial hearing, the
2 district attorney must establish to the satisfaction of the court that
3 the defendant has a dangerous mental disorder or is mentally ill. If the
4 court finds that the defendant has a dangerous mental disorder, it must
5 issue a commitment order, provided however that where the offense or
6 offenses charged in the indictment or accusatory instrument against the
7 defendant include any of the offenses set forth in subdivision two or
8 three of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law the
9 order shall require the defendant to comply with the provisions of arti-
10 cle six-C of the correction law upon discharge or conditional release.
11 If the court finds that the defendant does not have a dangerous mental
12 disorder but is mentally ill, the provisions of subdivision seven of
13 this section shall apply.
14 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 330.20 of the criminal procedure law, as
15 added by chapter 548 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as follows:
16 7. Initial hearing civil commitment and order of conditions. If, at
17 the conclusion of the initial hearing conducted pursuant to subdivision
18 six of this section, the court finds that the defendant is mentally ill
19 but does not have a dangerous mental disorder, the provisions of arti-
20 cles nine or fifteen of the mental hygiene law shall apply at that stage
21 of the proceedings and at all subsequent proceedings. Having found that
22 the defendant is mentally ill, the court must issue an order of condi-
23 tions and an order committing the defendant to the custody of the
24 commissioner. The latter order shall be deemed an order made pursuant to
25 the mental hygiene law and not pursuant to this section, and further
26 retention, conditional release or discharge of such defendant shall be
27 in accordance with the provisions of the mental hygiene law, provided
28 however that where the offense or offenses charged in the indictment or
29 accusatory instrument against the defendant include any of the offenses
30 set forth in subdivision two or three of section one hundred sixty-
31 eight-a of the correction law the order shall require the defendant to
32 comply with the provisions of article six-C of the correction law upon
33 discharge or conditional release. If, at the conclusion of the initial
34 hearing, the court finds that the defendant does not have a dangerous
35 mental disorder and is not mentally ill, the court must discharge the
36 defendant either unconditionally or subject to an order of conditions,
37 provided however that where the offense or offenses charged in the
38 indictment or accusatory instrument against the defendant include any of
39 the offenses set forth in subdivision two or three of section one
40 hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law the order shall require the
41 defendant to comply with the provisions of article six-C of the
42 correction law upon unconditional discharge or conditional release.
43 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
44 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
