BILL NUMBER:S4981

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the executive law, in relation to
jurisdiction of the justice center's special prosecutor and inspector
general

Purpose of the bill:

This bill would clarify that the Special Prosecutor and Inspector
General ("Special Prosecutor") at the Justice Center for the
Protection of People with Special Needs ("Justice Center") has
concurrent authority with District Attorneys to prosecute offenses
involving abuse or neglect of vulnerable persons by custodians.

Summary of Provisions:

Section 1 of the bill would amend Executive Law § 552(2)(a) and (c) to
clarify that the Justice Center's Special Prosecutor has the authority
to prosecute offenses involving abuse or neglect of vulnerable persons
by custodians in any state court in New York having appropriate
jurisdiction,

Section 2 of the bill would make it effective immediately, and would
deem these provisions to have been in full force and effect on or
after June 30, 2013.

              

Existing Law:

Article 20 of the Executive Law creates and sets forth the powers and
duties of the Justice Center. With respect to the Justice Center's
criminal authority, Executive Law § 552(2)(a)(i) imparts the Justice
Center's Special Prosecutor with the express power "to investigate and
prosecute offenses involving abuse or neglect, as defined in
subdivision eleven of section four hundred eighty-eight of the social
services law, committed against vulnerable persons by custodians."

Social Services Law § 488 defines "abuse or neglect" as the conduct
described in Social Services Law § 488 (1)(a) to (h), which defines
seven types of abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological
abuse, deliberate inappropriate use of restraints, use of aversive
conditioning, obstruction or reports of reportable incidents, unlawful
use or administration of a controlled substance) and neglect.

Criminal Procedure Law § 1.20(32) defines a "District Attorney" as
including "the special prosecutor and inspector general for the
protection of people with special needs or his or her assistants when
acting pursuant to their duties in matters arising under article
twenty of the executive law."

Prior Legislative History:

This is a new bill.

Statement in Support:

The Protection of People with Special Needs Act (PPSNA) (Ch. 501, L.
2012) created the Justice Center, whose primary purpose is to protect


people with special needs by implementing the set of uniform standards
set forth in the legislation, with respect to the reporting,
investigation and response to allegations of abuse or neglect
committed against persons. According to the PPSNA's Legislative
Findings and Purpose, "To bolster the ability of the state to respond
more effectively to abuse and neglect of vulnerable persons, without
creating additional burdens on local law enforcement, the justice
center will have concurrent authority with district attorneys to
prosecute abuse and neglect crimes committed against such persons."
Ch. 501, L. 2012, Part A, p.2. In addition, the definition of District
Attorney was amended to include the Justice Center's Special
Prosecutor, or his or her assistants, when acting pursuant to their
duties in matters arising under article twenty of the executive law.

Despite this clear legislative mandate, in a decision rendered on
April 29, 2014, in People v Davidson, a Lansing Town Court Justice
dismissed the criminal charges pending against a defendant, ruling
that the Justice Center's Special Prosecutor and Inspector General
lacked jurisdiction to prosecute offenses in a local justice court.
The Justice Center recently won its appeal of this decision. , but is
proposing that the statute be amended in order to codify the court's
decision and to give effect to the unequivocal legislative intent.
The amendment would avoid the potential of obtaining inconsistent
determinations among the different local courts. . As noted in the
Legislative Findings and Purpose, one purpose of giving the Justice
Center's Special Prosecutor and Inspector General concurrent
jurisdiction was to avoid creating additional burdens on district
attorneys, while at the same time bolstering the State's ability to
respond more effectively to abuse and neglect. If other local courts
rule as the Davidson court ruled, that the Justice Center's
prosecutors could not appear in local justice courts, then District
Attorneys would be solely responsible for prosecuting cases in those
courts - or District Attorneys may decide that they do not have the
resources to do so. Moreover, the Justice Center would be compelled to
present all such cases to a grand jury, even those in which it would
only charge misdemeanor offenses, which ordinarily do not need to be
presented to a grand jury, in order to obtain jurisdiction to
prosecute them. This is not an effective use of the grand jury's time,
and would likely delay the bringing of charges.

By amending the statute to clarify that the Justice Center's Special
Prosecutor and Inspector General has the authority to prosecute in
"any state court in New York having appropriate jurisdiction," this
bill would give effect to the Legislative intent, prevent any burden
to localities and District Attorneys that could result from limiting
the authority of the Justice Center's Special Prosecutor and Inspector
General, and codify the decision of the appellate court in Davidson

Budget Implications:

This bill would be implemented within existing resources. Local
Impact:  This bill would have a positive impact on local governments
by clarifying that the Justice Center's Special Prosecutor has the
authority to bring criminal charges in local courts, saving resources
of the local District Attorneys and grand juries.

Effective Date:


This bill would take effect immediately and be deemed to have been in
effect on and after June 30, 2013.