Criminal Justice

in committee · New York · Senate Jan 7, 2026

S 340: Permits the sealing of records of certain nonviolent misdemeanor or nonsexual misdemeanor criminal offenses

Permits the sealing of records of certain nonviolent misdemeanor or non-sexual misdemeanor criminal offenses; defines the term "eligible misdemeanor"; excludes certain misdemeanor offenses as eligible misdemeanors for the purposes of conditional sealing; lists certain eligibility requirements for sealing; provides an order granting sealing under this section shall restore the individual concerned, in the contemplation of the laws, to the status such individual occupied before the arrest or institution of criminal proceedings for the crime that was the subject of the sealing.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticePermits sealing nonviolent misdemeanor records, reducing barriers to employment/housing and aiding rehabilitation - core criminal justice reform measure.95% confidence

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in committee · New York · Senate Jan 7, 2026

S 5654: Enhances penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals; allows aggravated animal abuse to be considered for bail

Enhances penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals by making such offense a felony, including torture, beating, or killing of any animal; makes animal cruelty, including overdriving or depriving an animal of sustenance a felony when committed while released on recognizance for violating an order of protection; allows aggravated animal abuse to be considered for bail.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill increases penalties for animal cruelty (felony status, bail impact), expanding criminalization - aligns with OPPOSE indicators like stricter sentencing.95% confidence

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in committee · New York · Senate Jan 7, 2026

S 7503: Authorizes courts to reduce or modify sentences for certain individuals when such sentence is deemed to be greater than necessary to achieve the purposes of sentencing

Authorizes courts to reduce or modify sentences for certain individuals when such sentence is deemed to be greater than necessary to achieve the purposes of sentencing.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill allows courts to reduce excessive sentences, aligning with criminal justice reform goals to prevent unnecessary harshness and promote proportionality in sentencing.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Probation & Parole Sentencing

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in committee · New York · Senate Jan 7, 2026

S 292: Relates to sentencing of person convicted of murdering a minor

Provides that a person convicted of murder in the first or second degree, or aggravated murder, in the death of a minor shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill mandates life without parole for murder of a minor, increasing mandatory sentence severity. This opposes criminal justice reform trends seeking reduced harsh sentencing.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Juvenile Justice Probation & Parole Sentencing

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in committee · New York · Assembly Jan 7, 2026

A 7190: Directs the attorney general to review incidents where a civilian is killed by a police officer

This bill requires New York's Attorney General to review any incident where a police officer's conduct allegedly causes a civilian's serious injury or death within 60 days of the incident. The Attorney General must then decide whether the case stays with the local district attorney or is handled by a special prosecutor appointed by the governor. This applies specifically to officer-involved incidents involving civilian casualties, changing the initial review process for such cases.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill mandates independent AG review of officer-involved civilian deaths, enhancing police accountability per criminal justice reform indicators.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Policing

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failed · New York · Assembly Jan 7, 2026

A 6622: Designates certain crimes relating to prostitution as qualifying offenses with regard to bail eligibility

Designates promoting prostitution in the fourth degree and patronizing a person for prostitution in the third degree, where such person is less than 17 years of age, as qualifying offenses with regard to bail eligibility.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeDenies bail eligibility for prostitution crimes involving minors, reducing defendant rights under criminal justice process.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Human Trafficking

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in committee · New York · Senate Mar 4, 2026

S 6773: Relates to tampering with physical evidence and obstructing governmental administration

Includes a police or peace officer turning off their body camera or deleting a body camera recording in the crime of tampering with physical evidence and obstructing governmental administration.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill criminalizes police tampering with body camera evidence, enhancing accountability and transparency in law enforcement.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Policing

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in committee · New York · Assembly Jan 7, 2026

A 7659: Relates to motorcycle profiling

This bill requires municipal police training programs to include instruction on motorcycle profiling in basic and in-service officer training. It also mandates local law enforcement agencies to add a policy statement explicitly condemning motorcycle profiling to their existing anti-profiling policies. Motorcycle profiling is defined as illegally stopping or targeting individuals based solely on riding a motorcycle or wearing related gear, without constitutional justification. The law applies to all municipal police departments in New York and takes effect 30 days after enactment.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill mandates training and policy against motorcycle profiling, protecting civil rights and enhancing police accountability in law enforcement.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Policing

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in committee · New York · Senate Jan 7, 2026

S 4079: Establishes the crime of coercive control

Relates to establishing the crime of coercive control; provides that a person is guilty of coercive control when such person engages in a course of conduct against a member of such person's same family or household, without the victim's consent, which results in limiting or restricting, in full or in part, the victim's behavior, movement, associations or access to or use of such victim's own finances or financial information; provides that coercive control is a class E felony.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeCreates new class E felony for coercive control, strengthening victim protections and aligning with criminal justice reform to address intimate partner violence.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Domestic Violence

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in committee · New York · Senate Jan 7, 2026

S 296: Elevates assault of a code enforcement official to the class D felony of assault in the second degree

This bill elevates assaulting a code enforcement official to a class D felony (second-degree assault), making it a more serious criminal charge. It directly affects code enforcement officials (who inspect buildings, zoning, and health codes) and individuals who assault them, by adding them to a list of protected personnel under New York's assault law. The key change is expanding the existing penal law to specifically include code enforcement officials among those whose assault carries felony penalties, rather than lesser offenses. This policy shift increases potential legal consequences for violence against these public safety workers.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill elevates assault on code enforcement officials to felony, strengthening legal protection for these officials under criminal justice sentencing policies.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Violent Crime

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