Bill Text: NY A04984 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the state to indemnify or reimburse a criminal defendant for loss of time, legal fees and other expenses involved in a defense if the defendant's actions are found, upon legal investigation or court action to determine facts, to be justified.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 15-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-06 - enacting clause stricken [A04984 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A04984-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4984 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 6, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAIA, FINCH, MORINELLO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BLANKENBUSH, HAWLEY, KOLB, McDONOUGH, M. L. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to reimbursement following a successful defense of justification The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 35.00 of the penal law is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 § 35.00 Justification; a defense. 4 In any prosecution for an offense, justification, as defined in 5 sections 35.05 through 35.30 of this article, is a defense. When a 6 substantial question of justification shall exist which needs legal 7 investigation or court action for the full determination of the facts 8 and the defendant's actions are subsequently found justified under the 9 intent of this article, the state shall indemnify or reimburse such 10 defendant for all loss of time, legal fees, or other expenses involved 11 in his or her defense. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next 13 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07865-01-9
