New York Civil Rights Law § 50-a was a section of the
New York Civil Rights Law, enacted in 1976, which required the concealment of disciplinary records of
police officer
A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
s,
firefighters, and
prison officers from the public.
Under the former law, any "personnel records" were "confidential and not subject to inspection or review," unless the officer granted permission for their release.
The stated rationale for the law was to protect law enforcement officers who served as
witness
In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know.
A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...
es for the prosecution in trials.
In particular, the law was meant to protect officers from
subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
s seeking misconduct records issued by
defense attorneys. Section 50-a was a major source of controversy from its enactment, with civil rights activists blaming it for a lack of
police accountability, saying that it served to preserve
institutional racism
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organizati ...
, and calling it one of the strongest police secrecy laws in the country.
On June 12, 2020, Governor
Andrew Cuomo signed to repeal the law as part of
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
/Senate Bill A10611/S8496.
Criticism
Critics have argued that the law was used to hide records of police
misconduct
Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...
and wrongdoing from the public and that this contributed to a culture in which misconduct by the
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
often goes unpunished and oversight is rare
Media organizations complained also that the law created difficulty in investigating police misconduct as well.
According to the
New York Civil Liberties Union, "50-a was arguably the worst law in the nation when it comes to the public's ability to access these records."
Repeal
Beginning in 2014, following the
killing of Eric Garner, a coalition of activists began to call for the repeal of Section 50-a. Some organizations that advocated for the repeal of the law include Communities United for Police Reform,
New York Communities for Change, East Coast Coalition for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination,
Make the Road New York,
New York City Bar Association, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Moms Rising.
In 2016, Mayor
Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
issued a written statement that "public interest was disserved" by the law. Following the
murder of George Floyd,
large-scale protests began in many parts of the world, including
in New York, calling for
police reforms and police accountability.
On June 10, 2020, the New York State Legislature voted to repeal Section 50-a and on June 12, Governor
Andrew Cuomo signed an act amending the Civil Rights Law to totally repeal Section 50-a.
Aftermath
In July 2020, Judge
Katherine Polk Failla of the
temporarily blocked the release of records covered by the former Section 50-a. Failla issued the
temporary restraining order
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...
upon the request of New York City police,
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
and
correctional unions, citing potential "employment" and "safety" issues.
Despite initially siding with the police unions and temporarily blocking release, Failla later decided that the release of records should be permitted prior to trial (with the exception of certain minor "technical infractions") and reversed most of the initial order. However, Failla also agreed to maintain the restraining order long enough for the unions to
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
the decision.
In February 2021, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...
agreed that the records should be released. The Second Circuit ruling affirmed Failla's order and permitted almost all of the disclosures that the police unions wished to block, while maintaining the exception for technical infractions.
In January 2021, it was reported that police departments had continued to find ways to hide their discipline records. A joint effort by
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
Network New York,
MuckRock, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, and
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
journalism made a total of 600 record requests from 400 police agencies. Only 40 agencies provided records in response to the requests.
[{{Cite web, author=Jon Campbell , title=New York 50-a repeal: Months later, police find ways to shield disciplinary records, url=https://news.wbfo.org/post/new-york-50-repeal-months-later-police-find-ways-shield-disciplinary-records, access-date=2021-01-24, website=news.wbfo.org, date=11 January 2021, language=en]
See also
*
California Senate Bill 1421
References
Police misconduct in the United States
New York (state) law
2020 in New York (state)
2020 in American law