Bill Text: NY A02176 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Exempts certain interested parties or people from civil arrest while going to, remaining at, or returning from the place of such court proceeding.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 79-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-12-15 - signed chap.322 [A02176 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A02176-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2176
                               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 -- read once and referred  to  the  Committee  on
          Codes
        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.
    12    2. It is a contempt of the court and false imprisonment for any person
    13  to willfully violate subdivision one of this section, or an order of the
    14  court issued pursuant to section four-a of the judiciary law, by execut-
    15  ing  an  arrest prohibited by subdivision one of this section or section
    16  four-a of the judiciary law, or willfully assisting or willfully facili-
    17  tating an arrest prohibited  by  subdivision  one  of  this  section  or
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05356-01-9
        A. 2176                             2
     1  section  four-a of the judiciary law; provided, however, that nothing in
     2  this subdivision shall affect any right or defense of any person, police
     3  officer, peace officer or public officer pursuant to article thirty-five
     4  of the penal law.
     5    3. Regardless of whether a proceeding for contempt of the court pursu-
     6  ant to subdivision two of this section has been initiated:
     7    (a)  a person described in subdivision one of this section may bring a
     8  civil action for appropriate equitable and declaratory  relief  if  such
     9  person has reasonable cause to believe a violation of subdivision one of
    10  this  section,  as  described  in  subdivision two of this section, or a
    11  violation of section four-a of the judiciary law, has  occurred  or  may
    12  occur; and
    13    (b)  the  attorney general may bring a civil action in the name of the
    14  people of the state of New York  to  obtain  appropriate  equitable  and
    15  declaratory  relief  if  the  attorney  general  has reasonable cause to
    16  believe that  a  violation  of  subdivision  one  of  this  section,  as
    17  described  in subdivision two of this section, or a violation of section
    18  four-a of the judiciary law, has occurred or may occur.
    19    4. In any successful action pursuant  to  subdivision  three  of  this
    20  section,  a  plaintiff  or  petitioner  may recover costs and reasonable
    21  attorney's fees.
    22    5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to narrow, or in any way
    23  lessen, any common law or other right or privilege of  a  person  privi-
    24  leged from arrest pursuant to this article or otherwise.
    25    6. As used in this section:
    26    (a) "civil arrest" shall mean an arrest that is not:
    27    (i) for the sole or primary purpose of preparing the person subject to
    28  such  arrest  for  criminal prosecution, for an alleged violation of the
    29  criminal law of:
    30    (A) this state, or another state, for which a sentence of  a  term  of
    31  imprisonment is authorized by law; or
    32    (B)  the United States, for which a sentence of a term of imprisonment
    33  is authorized by law, and for which  federal  law  requires  an  initial
    34  appearance  before a federal judge, federal magistrate or other judicial
    35  officer, pursuant to the federal rules of criminal procedure that govern
    36  initial appearances; or
    37    (ii) for contempt of the court in which the court proceeding is taking
    38  place or will be taking place;
    39    (b) "court proceeding" shall mean any appearance in a  court  of  this
    40  state  before  a  judge  or justice or judicial magistrate of this state
    41  ordered or scheduled by such judge or justice or judicial magistrate, or
    42  the filing of papers designed to initiate such an  appearance  before  a
    43  judge or justice or judicial magistrate of this state;
    44    (c)  "family  or  household  member" shall have the same meaning as in
    45  subdivision two of section  four  hundred  fifty-nine-a  of  the  social
    46  services law; and
    47    (d) "judicial warrant or judicial order authorizing such civil arrest"
    48  means  an arrest warrant or other judicial order, issued by a magistrate
    49  sitting in the judicial branch of a local or state government or of  the
    50  federal  government,  authorizing a civil arrest and issued by the court
    51  in which proceedings following such arrest will be heard and determined.
    52    § 3. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 4-a to  read
    53  as follows:
    54    §  4-a. Certain powers of the courts regarding civil arrests. In order
    55  to maintain access to the court and open judicial  proceedings  for  all
    56  persons  in  their  individual capacity and to prevent interference with
        A. 2176                             3
     1  the needs of judicial administration, a court has  the  power  to  issue
     2  appropriate  judicial orders to protect the privilege from civil arrest,
     3  in accordance with article three of the civil rights law.
     4    §  4.  Subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judiciary law is amended by
     5  adding a new paragraph (x) to read as follows:
     6    (x) (i) In order to maintain access to the  court  and  open  judicial
     7  proceedings  for all persons in their individual capacity and to prevent
     8  interference with the needs of judicial administration, consistent  with
     9  section  twenty-eight of the civil rights law and section four-a of this
    10  chapter, direct that court personnel responsible for all courthouses and
    11  the places of all court proceedings in the state shall not allow  access
    12  to  such  courthouses  and  places of court proceedings to non-local law
    13  enforcement personnel seeking to enter such locations  with  respect  to
    14  violation or violations of federal immigration law unless presented with
    15  a  valid  judicial  warrant or judicial order, and designated counsel of
    16  the unified court system has  individually  reviewed  and  confirmed  in
    17  writing  the  authenticity  of  such judicial warrant or judicial order.
    18  Non-local law enforcement personnel seeking to  enter  such  a  location
    19  with respect to violation or violations of federal immigration law shall
    20  identify  themselves and such purpose, and present such judicial warrant
    21  or judicial order to such responsible court personnel when seeking  such
    22  access.  The  chief administrator shall promulgate rules consistent with
    23  this subdivision designed to implement the provisions of this paragraph.
    24    (ii) Such rules shall also  require  that  a  copy  of  each  judicial
    25  warrant  and    judicial  order  reviewed  by  designated counsel of the
    26  unified court system under this paragraph be sent to and maintained in a
    27  central repository by the chief administrator, who shall  on  an  annual
    28  basis  compile  statistics disaggregated by  county and prepare a report
    29  of such statistics, and also identify in  such  report,  for  each  such
    30  judicial  warrant  and judicial order, the date such judicial warrant or
    31  judicial order was signed, the judge and court which issued  such  judi-
    32  cial  warrant  or judicial order and the location of such court as shown
    33  by such document, the  date such judicial warrant or judicial order  was
    34  presented to counsel for the  unified court system, a description of the
    35  type  of  judicial warrant or judicial order and, to the extent known to
    36  court personnel, whether or not an arrest occurred   and  the  date  and
    37  location of such arrest. Such report, which shall not include the  names
    38  of  individuals  involved,  shall  be  published  on  the website of the
    39  unified court system and copies of such report  shall  be  sent  to  the
    40  governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the
    41  senate.
    42    (iii)  For  purposes  of  this  paragraph,  "non-local law enforcement
    43  personnel" shall mean a person or persons employed or retained by a  law
    44  enforcement  agency:  (A)  of a jurisdiction other than the state of New
    45  York or a local government in the state of New York; or (B) of the state
    46  of New York or a local government in the state of New York,  where  such
    47  law  enforcement agency or employee or agent thereof has entered into an
    48  agreement with a federal  law  enforcement  agency,  including  but  not
    49  limited  to  pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1373, authorizing it or such person to
    50  enforce or assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law.
    51    § 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    52  sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
    53  competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
    54  impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
    55  its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
    56  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
        A. 2176                             4
     1  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
     2  the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
     3  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
     4    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.