NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9836
SPONSOR: Barclay TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to permitting
the electronic appearance of a defendant in the county of Oswego
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation would allow incarcerated individuals to appear virtual-
ly in the County of Oswego
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Adds Oswego County to the list of Counties in New York State
that permit a criminal defendant to appear electronically, rather than
in-person
Section 2. Effective Date
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation, introduced at the request of the Oswego County Sher-
iff, would allow incarcerated individuals to appear virtually. In addi-
tional to benefitting overall public safety, this legislation would
provide a major cost savings for Oswego County and reduce the burden on
corrections officers in a facility that is currently facing a staffing
shortage.
Virtual appearances also streamline the legal process for defendants,
removes the indignity of transport, and allows cases to be resolved in a
shorter time period.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the State; Savings to Oswego County
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9836
IN ASSEMBLY
April 11, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARCLAY -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to permitting
the electronic appearance of a defendant in the county of Oswego
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 182.20 of the criminal procedure
2 law, as separately amended by chapters 387 and 426 of the laws of 2023,
3 is amended to read as follows:
4 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided
5 in section 182.30 of this article, the court, in its discretion, may
6 dispense with the personal appearance of the defendant, except an
7 appearance at a hearing or trial, and conduct an electronic appearance
8 in connection with a criminal action pending in Albany, Bronx, Broome,
9 Erie, Jefferson, Kings, New York, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario,
10 Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Saratoga,
11 St. Lawrence, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Clin-
12 ton, Essex, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Sullivan, Warren, Westchester,
13 Suffolk, Herkimer, Franklin, Chemung, Schuyler, or Yates county,
14 provided that the chief administrator of the courts has authorized the
15 use of electronic appearance and the defendant, after consultation with
16 counsel, consents on the record. Such consent shall be required at the
17 commencement of each electronic appearance to such electronic appear-
18 ance.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, the
20 amendments to subdivision 1 of section 182.20 of the criminal procedure
21 law made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such
22 section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13366-01-3
