Requires judges or justices in a court that exercises criminal jurisdiction, including town and village justices, family court judges, and justices of the supreme court who regularly handle matrimonial matters, and court clerks of such courts to attend a program approved by the chief administrator of the courts addressing issues relating to domestic violence totaling at least ten hours every two years; requires law enforcement officers to complete ten hours of domestic violence training every two years.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4372--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 7, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law and the executive law, in relation to
domestic violence training for judges, court clerks and law enforce-
ment officers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 39-c
2 to read as follows:
3 § 39-c. Domestic violence training. 1. Each judge or justice in a
4 court that exercises criminal jurisdiction, including town and village
5 justices, each judge of the family court, each justice of the supreme
6 court who regularly handles matrimonial matters, and each court clerk of
7 such courts, shall attend for no less than ten hours every two years, a
8 program or programs approved by the chief administrator of the courts
9 addressing issues relating to domestic violence. Such program or
10 programs shall include, but shall not be limited to:
11 (a) information about the specific needs of victims;
12 (b) the nature, extent, and dynamics of domestic violence, including
13 emotional, economic, physical, technological, and sexual abuse;
14 (c) a review of the coercive tactics abusers use to induce fear in
15 their victims;
16 (d) education on the increased vulnerability of certain populations,
17 based on factors such as race, immigration status, gender identity,
18 income, or any other factor deemed relevant, and culturally responsive
19 approaches to serving victims;
20 (e) a review of relevant domestic violence and child abuse statutes
21 and case law;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07123-03-3
S. 4372--A 2
1 (f) information regarding the increased risk of escalating violence
2 that occurs during court proceedings or when a victim attempts to leave
3 an abuser and procedures designed to promote the safety of the victim
4 and other household members;
5 (g) knowledge of trauma and its effects on adult and child victims;
6 (h) the lethality and risk of domestic violence;
7 (i) providing methods to increase information sharing and cooperation
8 among court departments in combating domestic abuse;
9 (j) information regarding available community resources and victims'
10 services;
11 (k) legal remedies for protection;
12 (l) the harm courts may cause victims by separating children from
13 their primary attachment figure, failing to prioritize the safety of
14 children and non-offending parents, seeking to award custody to both
15 parents despite the presence of domestic violence or child abuse, or
16 relying on faulty assumptions regarding domestic violence that have been
17 rejected by reputable professional organizations, such as, but not
18 limited to: (i) the assumption that women or children frequently make
19 false allegations of abuse, (ii) the assumption that a parent's efforts
20 to protect a child from abuse by another parent is evidence of unwill-
21 ingness or inability to cooperate with that parent, (iii) the assumption
22 that one parent alienates a child from the other parent due to a patho-
23 logical medical syndrome, and (iv) in cases involving domestic violence
24 or child abuse, the assumption that one parent can and should support a
25 child's relationship with the other parent; and
26 (m) the appropriate experience and qualifications for child custody
27 evaluators and expert witnesses involved in court proceedings in which
28 domestic violence has been alleged.
29 2. Such program or programs shall be developed and delivered in coor-
30 dination with an organization designated by the federal department of
31 health and human services to coordinate statewide improvements within
32 local communities, social service systems and programming regarding the
33 prevention and intervention of domestic violence in New York state and
34 the office for the prevention of domestic violence.
35 3. Attendance at such program or programs shall be counted toward
36 fulfillment of the training and education requirements for justices,
37 judges, and court clerks established by the chief administrator of the
38 courts.
39 § 2. Section 837 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
40 subdivision 24 to read as follows:
41 24. Require that law enforcement officers shall attend for no less
42 than ten hours every two years, a program or programs developed by the
43 office for the prevention of domestic violence and approved by the divi-
44 sion addressing issues relating to domestic violence.
45 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
