Improves eyewitness identifications

Summary of provisions

Section 1 Amends the Criminal Procedure Law and requires law enforcement officials to video record statements made by accused persons in custody at a detention facility for certain violent felonies and provides procedures therefore, and exceptions thereto under certain circumstances.

Section 2 Amends the Family Court Act and requires a public servant to video record statements made by a respondent child in custody in accordance with certain sections of 60.45 of the Criminal Procedure Law.

Section 3 Amends the Criminal Procedure Law allowing testimony under limited certain circumstances by another person as to a prior identification of the defendant made by a witness who is unable by present recollection to identify a defendant.

Section 4 Amends the Criminal Procedure Law to permit the use of pictorial, photographic, electronic, or video recorded reproduction of an identification procedure to be used in addition to present identification by a witness of a defendant as evidence in chief at trial under certain limited circumstances.

Section 5 Amends the Criminal Procedure Law providing that failure to comply with certain provisions of blind or blinded identification procedures is not in and of itself legally sufficient to suppress such identification procedure.

Section 6 Amends Criminal Procedure incorporating the reforms of this Bill into notice requirements People have at arraignment of the defendant regarding identification procedures.

Sections 7 & 8 Amend Family Court Act incorporating the above Identification reforms into family court.

Sections 9 & 10 Amend the Executive Law requiring DCJS to formulate best practices and procedures for law enforcement to implement the above reforms.

Justification

On June 2, 2015, David P. Miranda, President, and Glenn Lau-Kee, Immediate Past President of the New York State Bar Association, Frank A. Sedita III, Erie County District Attorney and President of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, and Barry Scheck, Co-Founder of the Innocence Project reached a long-sought agreement on a process to require the recording of custodial interrogations in certain serious crimes and to allow the admissibility of photographic arrays when enhanced identification procedures are used.

This legislation, based on the proposal submitted by those organizations to the Legislature and the Governor's office, embodies the agreement.

Recording of the custodial interrogation of a suspect and requiring blind or double-blind identification procedures when asking a victim or a witness to identify a suspect, are best practices that would protect the innocent and enhance the capability of law enforcement to apprehend and convict the guilty. These reforms will improve public trust and confidence in our criminal justice system.

The proposal seeks to reduce two of the largest contributing factors to wrongful conviction: eyewitness misidentification, and false confession.

The enactment of this single proposal in its entirety will greatly strengthen New York's criminal justice system by promoting effective and uniform law enforcement procedures thereby improving public safety, and helping to address some of the root causes of wrongful convictions This legislation builds upon statewide procedures already voluntarily adopted by New York's Police and District Attorneys but now makes many of them required standard practice, It is another step forward in New York's commitment to ensure that the innocent remain free and that the guilty are not free to commit more crimes.

Legislative history

New Bill

Fiscal impact

None for fiscal year 2015-16.

Effective date

With respect to mandatory recording of custodial interrogations, this act shall take effect on June 1, 2017 and apply to confessions, admissions or statements made on or after such effective date.

With respect to eyewitness identification procedures the bill shall take effect on November 1, 2015.