S 4765: Relates to the timely scheduling of criminal trials.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4765 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the timely scheduling of criminal trials The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 30.30 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by 2 section 1 of part KKK of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 30.30 Speedy trial; time limitations. 5 1. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision three of this section, 6 a motion made pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section 7 170.30 or paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section 210.20 of this 8 chapter must be granted where the people are not ready for trial within: 9 (a) six months of the commencement of a criminal action wherein a 10 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a 11 felony; 12 (b) ninety days of the commencement of a criminal action wherein a 13 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a 14 misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of more than three 15 months and none of which is a felony; 16 (c) sixty days of the commencement of a criminal action wherein the 17 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a 18 misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not more than 19 three months and none of which is a crime punishable by a sentence of 20 imprisonment of more than three months; or 21 (d) thirty days of the commencement of a criminal action wherein the 22 defendant is accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a 23 violation and none of which is a crime. 24 (e) for the purposes of this subdivision, the term offense shall 25 include vehicle and traffic law infractions. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08666-01-5 
 S. 4765 2 1 2. Except as provided in subdivision three of this section, where a 2 defendant has been committed to the custody of the sheriff or the office 3 of children and family services in a criminal action [he or she] such 4 defendant must be released on bail or on [his or her] their own recogni- 5 zance, upon such conditions as may be just and reasonable, if the people 6 are not ready for trial in that criminal action within: 7 (a) ninety days from the commencement of [his or her] such defendant's 8 commitment to the custody of the sheriff or the office of children and 9 family services in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of 10 one or more offenses, at least one of which is a felony; 11 (b) thirty days from the commencement of [his or her] such defendant's 12 commitment to the custody of the sheriff or the office of children and 13 family services in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of 14 one or more offenses, at least one of which is a misdemeanor punishable 15 by a sentence of imprisonment of more than three months and none of 16 which is a felony; 17 (c) fifteen days from the commencement of [his or her] such defend- 18 ant's commitment to the custody of the sheriff or the office of children 19 and family services in a criminal action wherein the defendant is 20 accused of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a misdemeanor 21 punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not more than three months 22 and none of which is a crime punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of 23 more than three months; or 24 (d) five days from the commencement of [his or her] such defendant's 25 commitment to the custody of the sheriff or the office of children and 26 family services in a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of 27 one or more offenses, at least one of which is a violation and none of 28 which is a crime. 29 (e) for the purposes of this subdivision, the term offense shall 30 include vehicle and traffic law infractions. 31 3. (a) Subdivisions one and two of this section do not apply to a 32 criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of an offense defined 33 in sections 125.10, 125.15, 125.20, 125.25, 125.26 and 125.27 of the 34 penal law. 35 (b) A motion made pursuant to subdivisions one or two of this section 36 upon expiration of the specified period may be denied where the people 37 are not ready for trial if the people were ready for trial prior to the 38 expiration of the specified period and their present unreadiness is due 39 to some exceptional fact or circumstance, including, but not limited to, 40 the sudden unavailability of evidence material to the people's case, 41 when the district attorney has exercised due diligence to obtain such 42 evidence and there are reasonable grounds to believe that such evidence 43 will become available in a reasonable period. 44 (c) A motion made pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall 45 not: 46 (i) apply to any defendant who is serving a term of imprisonment for 47 another offense; 48 (ii) require the release from custody of any defendant who is also 49 being held in custody pending trial of another criminal charge as to 50 which the applicable period has not yet elapsed; 51 (iii) prevent the redetention of or otherwise apply to any defendant 52 who, after being released from custody pursuant to this section or 53 otherwise, is charged with another crime or violates the conditions on 54 which [he] such defendant has been released, by failing to appear at a 55 judicial proceeding at which [his] such defendant's presence is required 56 or otherwise. 
 S. 4765 3 1 4. In computing the time within which the people must be ready for 2 trial pursuant to subdivisions one and two of this section, the follow- 3 ing periods must be excluded: 4 (a) a reasonable period of delay resulting from other proceedings 5 concerning the defendant, including but not limited to: proceedings for 6 the determination of competency and the period during which defendant is 7 incompetent to stand trial; demand to produce; request for a bill of 8 particulars; pre-trial motions; appeals; trial of other charges; and the 9 period during which such matters are under consideration by the court; 10 or 11 (b) the period of delay resulting from a continuance granted by the 12 court at the request of, or with the consent of, the defendant or [his 13 or her] such defendant's counsel. The court may grant such a continuance 14 only if it is satisfied that postponement is in the interest of justice, 15 taking into account the public interest in the prompt dispositions of 16 criminal charges. A defendant without counsel must not be deemed to have 17 consented to a continuance unless [he or she] such defendant has been 18 advised by the court of [his or her] such defendant's rights under these 19 rules and the effect of [his] such defendant's consent, which must be 20 done on the record in open court; or 21 (c) (i) the period of delay resulting from the absence or unavailabil- 22 ity of the defendant. A defendant must be considered absent whenever 23 [his] such defendant's location is unknown and [he] such defendant is 24 attempting to avoid apprehension or prosecution, or [his] such defend- 25 ant's location cannot be determined by due diligence. A defendant must 26 be considered unavailable whenever [his] such defendant's location is 27 known but [his] such defendant's presence for trial cannot be obtained 28 by due diligence; or 29 (ii) where the defendant has either escaped from custody or has failed 30 to appear when required after having previously been released on bail or 31 on [his] such defendant's own recognizance, and provided the defendant 32 is not in custody on another matter, the period extending from the day 33 the court issues a bench warrant pursuant to section 530.70 of this 34 chapter because of the defendant's failure to appear in court when 35 required, to the day the defendant subsequently appears in the court 36 pursuant to a bench warrant or voluntarily or otherwise; or 37 (d) a reasonable period of delay when the defendant is joined for 38 trial with a co-defendant as to whom the time for trial pursuant to this 39 section has not run and good cause is not shown for granting a sever- 40 ance; or 41 (e) the period of delay resulting from detention of the defendant in 42 another jurisdiction provided the district attorney is aware of such 43 detention and has been diligent and has made reasonable efforts to 44 obtain the presence of the defendant for trial; or 45 (f) the period during which the defendant is without counsel through 46 no fault of the court; except when the defendant is proceeding as [his] 47 such defendant's own attorney with the permission of the court; or 48 (g) other periods of delay occasioned by exceptional circumstances, 49 including but not limited to, the period of delay resulting from a 50 continuance granted at the request of a district attorney if (i) the 51 continuance is granted because of the unavailability of evidence materi- 52 al to the people's case, when the district attorney has exercised due 53 diligence to obtain such evidence and there are reasonable grounds to 54 believe that such evidence will become available in a reasonable period; 55 or (ii) the continuance is granted to allow the district attorney addi- 56 tional time to prepare the people's case and additional time is justi- 
 S. 4765 4 1 fied by the exceptional circumstances of the case. Any statement of 2 readiness filed by the people on a day not scheduled for trial or other 3 proceeding shall be filed by affidavit. Any such exclusion when a state- 4 ment of unreadiness has followed a statement of readiness made by the 5 people must be evaluated by the court after inquiry on the record as to 6 the reasons for the people's unreadiness and shall only be approved upon 7 a showing of sufficient supporting facts; or 8 (h) the period during which an action has been adjourned in contem- 9 plation of dismissal pursuant to sections 170.55, 170.56 and 215.10 of 10 this chapter; or 11 (i) the period prior to the defendant's actual appearance for arraign- 12 ment in a situation in which the defendant has been directed to appear 13 by the district attorney pursuant to subdivision three of section 120.20 14 or subdivision three of section 210.10 of this chapter; or 15 (j) the period during which a family offense is before a family court 16 until such time as an accusatory instrument or indictment is filed 17 against the defendant alleging a crime constituting a family offense, as 18 such term is defined in section 530.11 of this chapter. 19 5. Whenever pursuant to this section a prosecutor states or otherwise 20 provides notice that the people are ready for trial, the court shall 21 make inquiry on the record as to their actual readiness. If, after 22 conducting its inquiry, the court determines that the people are not 23 ready to proceed to trial, the prosecutor's statement or notice of read- 24 iness shall not be valid for purposes of this section. Any statement of 25 trial readiness must be accompanied or preceded by a certification of 26 good faith compliance with the disclosure requirements of section 245.20 27 of this chapter and the defense shall be afforded an opportunity to be 28 heard on the record as to whether the disclosure requirements have been 29 met. This subdivision shall not apply to cases where the defense has 30 waived disclosure requirements. 31 5-a. Upon a local criminal court accusatory instrument, a statement of 32 readiness shall not be valid unless the prosecuting attorney certifies 33 that all counts charged in the accusatory instrument meet the require- 34 ments of sections 100.15 and 100.40 of this chapter and those counts not 35 meeting the requirements of sections 100.15 and 100.40 of this chapter 36 have been dismissed. 37 6. An order finally denying a motion to dismiss pursuant to subdivi- 38 sion one of this section shall be reviewable upon an appeal from an 39 ensuing judgment of conviction notwithstanding the fact that such judg- 40 ment is entered upon a plea of guilty. 41 7. At each court appearance date preceding the commencement of trial 42 in a criminal action, the court, whenever it is practicable to do so, 43 shall rule on whether the adjournment period immediately following such 44 court appearance date is to be included or excluded for the purposes of 45 computing the time within which the people must be ready for trial with- 46 in the meaning of this section; provided that such ruling shall not be 47 binding on a determination of a motion made pursuant to subdivision one 48 or two of this section. The court's ruling shall be noted in the court 49 file. 50 8. Where the people state not ready for trial and seek an adjournment 51 for a specific date, upon request of the defendant the court shall 52 adjourn the matter for the date requested by the people or a date not 53 more than ten days thereafter, unless doing so would not be in the 54 interest of justice. 55 9. Where the people and defendant state ready for trial on the record 56 in open court and the court is not able to accommodate commencement of 
 S. 4765 5 1 the trial immediately, the court shall not adjourn for a date later than 2 ten days thereafter, unless doing so would not be in the interest of 3 justice. 4 10. Where the people file a statement of trial readiness on a day not 5 scheduled for trial or other proceeding, upon request of the defendant 6 and with notice to the people, the court shall place the matter on the 7 court calendar within ten days of such request to schedule a date for 8 trial. 9 11. For purposes of this section, (a) where the defendant is to be 10 tried following the withdrawal of the plea of guilty or is to be retried 11 following a mistrial, an order for a new trial or an appeal or collat- 12 eral attack, the criminal action and the commitment to the custody of 13 the sheriff or the office of children and family services, if any, must 14 be deemed to have commenced on the date the withdrawal of the plea of 15 guilty or the date the order occasioning a retrial becomes final; 16 (b) where a defendant has been served with an appearance ticket, the 17 criminal action must be deemed to have commenced on the date the defend- 18 ant first appears in a local criminal court in response to the ticket; 19 (c) where a criminal action is commenced by the filing of a felony 20 complaint, and thereafter, in the course of the same criminal action 21 either the felony complaint is replaced with or converted to an informa- 22 tion, prosecutor's information or misdemeanor complaint pursuant to 23 article one hundred eighty of this chapter or a prosecutor's information 24 is filed pursuant to section 190.70 of this chapter, the period applica- 25 ble for the purposes of subdivision one must be the period applicable to 26 the charges in the new accusatory instrument, calculated from the date 27 of the filing of such new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that 28 when the aggregate of such period and the period of time, excluding the 29 periods provided in subdivision four of this section, already elapsed 30 from the date of the filing of the felony complaint to the date of the 31 filing of the new accusatory instrument exceeds six months, the period 32 applicable to the charges in the felony complaint must remain applicable 33 and continue as if the new accusatory instrument had not been filed; 34 (d) where a criminal action is commenced by the filing of a felony 35 complaint, and thereafter, in the course of the same criminal action 36 either the felony complaint is replaced with or converted to an informa- 37 tion, prosecutor's information or misdemeanor complaint pursuant to 38 article one hundred eighty of this chapter or a prosecutor's information 39 is filed pursuant to section 190.70 of this chapter, the period applica- 40 ble for the purposes of subdivision two of this section must be the 41 period applicable to the charges in the new accusatory instrument, 42 calculated from the date of the filing of such new accusatory instru- 43 ment; provided, however, that when the aggregate of such period and the 44 period of time, excluding the periods provided in subdivision four of 45 this section, already elapsed from the date of the filing of the felony 46 complaint to the date of the filing of the new accusatory instrument 47 exceeds ninety days, the period applicable to the charges in the felony 48 complaint must remain applicable and continue as if the new accusatory 49 instrument had not been filed. 50 (e) where a count of an indictment is reduced to charge only a misde- 51 meanor or petty offense and a reduced indictment or a prosecutor's 52 information is filed pursuant to subdivisions one-a and six of section 53 210.20 of this chapter, the period applicable for the purposes of subdi- 54 vision one of this section must be the period applicable to the charges 55 in the new accusatory instrument, calculated from the date of the filing 56 of such new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that when the 
 S. 4765 6 1 aggregate of such period and the period of time, excluding the periods 2 provided in subdivision four of this section, already elapsed from the 3 date of the filing of the indictment to the date of the filing of the 4 new accusatory instrument exceeds six months, the period applicable to 5 the charges in the indictment must remain applicable and continue as if 6 the new accusatory instrument had not been filed; 7 (f) where a count of an indictment is reduced to charge only a misde- 8 meanor or petty offense and a reduced indictment or a prosecutor's 9 information is filed pursuant to subdivisions one-a and six of section 10 210.20 of this chapter, the period applicable for the purposes of subdi- 11 vision two of this section must be the period applicable to the charges 12 in the new accusatory instrument, calculated from the date of the filing 13 of such new accusatory instrument; provided, however, that when the 14 aggregate of such period and the period of time, excluding the periods 15 provided in subdivision four of this section, already elapsed from the 16 date of the filing of the indictment to the date of the filing of the 17 new accusatory instrument exceeds ninety days, the period applicable to 18 the charges in the indictment must remain applicable and continue as if 19 the new accusatory instrument had not been filed. 20 [8.] 12. The procedural rules prescribed in subdivisions one through 21 seven of section 210.45 of this chapter with respect to a motion to 22 dismiss an indictment are not applicable to a motion made pursuant to 23 subdivision two of this section. If, upon oral argument, a time period 24 is in dispute, the court must promptly conduct a hearing in which the 25 people must prove that the time period is excludable. 26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 27 have become a law.