BILL NUMBER: S492
SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the judiciary law and the executive law, in relation to
domestic violence training for judges, court clerks and law enforcement
officers
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require certain judges, court clerks, and law enforcement officers to
take a training program related to domestic violence.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the judiciary law by adding a new section 39-c to
require each judge or justice in a court that exercises criminal juris-
diction, each judge of the family court, each supreme court justice who
regularly handles matrimonial matters, and each court clerk of such
courts to attend, no less than ten hours every two years, a training
program related to domestic violence. Attendance at such training shall
be counted towards fulfillment of the training and education requirement
for justices and judges and shall be developed in coordination with both
organizations that work to prevent and intervene in issues of domestic
violence, as well as others that are experienced in providing trauma-in-
formed, victim-centered training regarding domestic violence. This
section also details what information this domestic violence education
program must include. This section further requires that these programs
be developed in coordination with an organization experienced in provid-
ing domestic violence training.
Section 2 amends the executive law to require law enforcement officers
to attend a program developed by the Office for the Prevention of Domes-
tic Violence.
Section 3 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Many judges and law enforcement officers have outdated ideas about
domestic violence and lack a trauma informed lens in evaluating cases
they are called to or have before them. In fact, studies have shown that
these criminal justice actors often rely on judgments or biases that can
result in negative outcomes, such as custody being granted to an abusive
parent or leaving a child in increased risk post-separation. Therefore,
law enforcement officers and judges in criminal cases should be trained
to recognize psychological issues caused by domestic violence, and to
take such psychological issues into consideration when a defendant's
criminal behavior is partially motivated thereby.
This bill codifies the requirement that law enforcement officers and
every judge and justice who handles matrimonial, family court, and crim-
inal matters shall attend domestic violence training as part of their
mandatory judicial training and education requirements. Around half of
the states in the country, including California, Florida, and New
Jersey, require similar training and education. By participating in such
training, these law enforcement officers, judges, and justices would be
better equipped to recognize signs and effects of domestic violence and
to protect those most vulnerable to it.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S4372
2021-2022: S4837
2019-2020: S8954
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:;
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S492: 837 executive law