Permits at the discretion of the court certain members of the victim's family to read statements in court during the sentencing of a defendant

6 Co-sponsors

• John J. Bonacic
• John A. DeFrancisco
• Rich Funke
• William J. Larkin Jr.
• Thomas F. O'Mara
• Michael H. Ranzenhofer

BILL NUMBER:S2993

Title of bill

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to permitting at the discretion of the court certain family members of a victim who is deceased to read statements in court during the sentencing of a defendant

Purpose

To correct an unintended flaw in the statute that effectively prohibits any discretion of the judge to allow for more than one of the victims' family members to address the court.

Summary of provisions

This bill amends subparagraph 2 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 380.50 of the criminal procedure law, as separately amended by chapters 173 and 198 of the laws of 1996, to allow a presiding judge the discretion to allow statements on behalf of a victim by an immediate family member or up to two members, on consultation with counsels for the defense and the people.

Justification

When violent criminal acts kill or maim any person, friends and family are often victims due to the pain and trauma they must endure. In our civilized society, families of victims must exercise restraint and bear the pain of their loss while the wheels of justice turn and hopefully lead to the conviction of the perpetrator of the crime. For the murdered victims, surviving close relatives such as a spouse, mother, father, or children, can often find some closure at the end of the trial through use of the opportunity to address their loss to the court, and make a statement on behalf of the victim who can no longer speak for him/her(self). While current law provides this opportunity by allowing only "a member" of the victim's family to make a statement, it effectively restricts the judge's discretion. Current law prohibits the judge from considering the appropriateness of more than one member addressing the court, even if the victim is survived by close relatives, such as a spouse and parents.

Certainly, good public policy would deem it appropriate to leave it to the discretion of the judge to determine if both the spouse and a parent should speak. The judge should not be forced to choose between the wife and mother of a victim as it occurred in the recent case of police officer Anthony Sanchez.

This bill, if enacted, will correct the apparently unintended restriction, and give the discretion to the court where it appropriately belongs.

Legislative history

2013,2014: S.3082 Referred to Codes 2011,2012: S.751 Referred to Codes 2009,2010: S.3408/A.3525 Referred to Codes

2007,2008: S.389 /A.3973 Passed Senate 2006: S.6276/A.3803 Passed Senate 2005: S.6276/A.3803 Referred to Codes 2003,2004: A.5073A Referred to Codes 2001: A.6193/S.3375A Passed Senate 2002: A.6193/S.3375A Referred to Codes

Fiscal implications

No known fiscal impact.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.