N.Y. Judiciary Law § 216: Additional duties of the chief administrator; certain cases

§ 216. Additional duties of the chief administrator; certain cases. 1.

The chief administrator of the courts shall designate the appropriate

persons, including but not limited to district attorneys, criminal and

family court clerks, corporation counsels, county attorneys, victims

assistance unit staff, probation officers, warrant officers, sheriffs,

police officers or any other law enforcement officials, to inform any

petitioner bringing a proceeding under article eight of the family court

act or a complainant in an action which would be subject to the

provisions of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, before such

proceeding or action is commenced, of the procedures available for the

institution of family offense proceedings, including but not limited to

the following:

(a) That there is concurrent jurisdiction with respect to family

offenses in both family court and the criminal courts;

(b) That a family court proceeding is a civil proceeding and is for

the purpose of attempting to keep the family unit intact. Referrals for

counseling, or counseling services, are available through probation for

this purpose;

(c) That a proceeding in the criminal courts is for the purpose of

prosecution of the offender and can result in a criminal conviction of

the offender;

(d) That a proceeding or action subject to the provisions of this

section is initiated at the time of the filing of an accusatory

instrument or filing a family court petition, not at the time of arrest,

or request for arrest, if any;

(f) That an arrest may precede the commencement of a family court or a

criminal court proceeding, but an arrest is not a requirement for

commencing either proceeding.

2. No official or other person designated pursuant to subdivision one

of this section shall discourage or prevent any person who wishes to

file a petition or sign or initiate a proceeding in a criminal court

from having access to any court for that purpose.

3. The chief administrator shall prescribe an appropriate form to

implement subdivision two of this section.

4. The chief administrator of the courts shall collect data in

relation to the number of cases in which the basic child support

obligation, as defined in section two hundred forty of the domestic

relations law and section four hundred thirteen of the family court act,

was ordered; the number of cases in which the order deviated from such

basic child support obligation and the reasons therefor; the incomes of

the parties; the number of children, and the amount of child support

awarded pursuant to the child support standards act; and amounts of

alimony or maintenance, or allocations of property included in orders or

judgments that include a provision for child support pursuant to the

child support standards act, and shall report such data to the temporary

president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chairpersons of the

judiciary and children and families committees, and the governor on or

before the first day of April of each year. In collecting such data, the

chief administrator shall not disclose the identities of the parties or

disclose information that would tend to reveal the identities of the

parties.

5. The chief administrator of the courts, in conjunction with the

division of criminal justice services, shall collect data and report

every six months regarding pretrial release and detention. Such data and

report shall contain information categorized by age, gender, racial and

ethnic background; regarding the nature of the criminal offenses,

including the top charge of each case; the number and type of charges in

each defendant's criminal record; whether a hate crime was charged;

whether the prosecutor requested that the court fix bail, the amounts

and forms of bail requested by the prosecutor, and the amounts and forms

of bail set by the court; the number of individuals released on

recognizance; the number of individuals released on non-monetary

conditions, including the conditions imposed; the number of individuals

committed to the custody of a sheriff prior to trial; the rates of

failure to appear and rearrest; the outcome of such cases or

dispositions; the length of the pretrial detention stay and any other

such information as the chief administrator and the division of criminal

justice services may find necessary and appropriate. Further, the chief

administrator of the courts shall collect data and report every month

regarding pretrial commitments to local correctional facilities. Such

data shall include but not be limited to age, gender, racial and ethnic

background of the principal; both beginning and end dates of pretrial

commitment to the custody of the sheriff; total days of pretrial

commitment to the custody of the sheriff; the type of commitment ordered

by the court; the top charge at arrest and arraignment; and whether the

principal had been previously released from custody in the case. Such

report shall aggregate the data collected by county; court, including

city, town and village courts; and judge. The data shall be aggregated

in order to protect the identity of individual defendants. The report

shall be released publicly and published on the websites of the office

of court administration and the division of criminal justice services.

The first report shall be published twelve months after this subdivision

shall have become a law, and shall include data from the first six

months following the enactment of this section. Reports for subsequent

periods shall be published every six months thereafter; provided,

however, that the pretrial detention admissions and discharges report

will be published every month.

6. The chief administrator of the courts, in conjunction with the

division of criminal justice services, shall collect data and report

annually regarding the impact of article two hundred forty-five of the

criminal procedure law. Such data and report shall contain information

regarding the implementation of article two hundred forty-five of the

criminal procedure law, including procedures used to implement the

article, resources needed for implementation, monies received pursuant

to section ninety-nine-hh of the state finance law, including the amount

of money utilized for the services and expenses eligible pursuant to

subdivision three of such section, information regarding cases where

discovery obligations are not met, and information regarding case

outcomes. The report shall be released publicly and published on the

websites of the office of court administration and the division of

criminal justice services. The first report shall be published eighteen

months after the effective date of this section, and shall include data

from the first twelve months following the enactment of this section.

Reports for subsequent years shall be published annually thereafter.