Bill Text: NY S05256 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to the public release of grand jury documents; releases the district attorney's grand jury charges to the public upon request once the grand jury has reached a final decision.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S05256 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05256-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5256
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     April 18, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  criminal  procedure  law, in relation to public
          release of grand jury documents
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 6 of section 190.25 of the criminal procedure
     2  law is amended to read as follows:
     3    6. (a) The legal advisors of the grand jury  are  the  court  and  the
     4  district  attorney,  and  the  grand  jury may not seek or receive legal
     5  advice from any other source. Where necessary or appropriate, the  court
     6  or the district attorney, or both, must instruct the grand jury concern-
     7  ing the law with respect to its duties or any matter before it, and such
     8  instructions must be recorded in the minutes.
     9    (b)  Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this section
    10  or any other law to the contrary, at any time following final action  by
    11  the grand jury on any charge or charges, the court shall make such legal
    12  instructions  and  charges  submitted to the grand jury available to the
    13  public on request, provided that the names of witnesses and any informa-
    14  tion  that  would  identify  such  witnesses  included  in  such   legal
    15  instructions  shall  be redacted when the court determines, in a written
    16  order, that there is a reasonable likelihood that public release of such
    17  information would endanger any individual.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02939-01-9
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