Relates to proof of claims for unjust conviction and imprisonment

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why the sponsor says this is needed

When section 8-b of the Court of Claims Act was enacted in 1984, actual innocence was not a basis of setting aside a conviction and so was not included in the wrongful conviction provisions of the Court of Claims Act. In 2014, the Second Department recognized that the imprisonment of an actually innocent person violates that person's constitutional rights. People v. Hamilton, 115 A.D.3d 12, 26 (2d Dept. 2014). Section 440.10 (1)(h) of the Criminal Procedure Law authorizes the vacation of a conviction if the judgment was obtained in violation of the defendant's rights, but this ground was not included in the Court of Claims Act. In 2020, the First Department held that since paragraph (h) was not included in the Court of Claims Act, a wrongful conviction claim could not be sustained where the conviction as set aside on that ground. Greene v. State, 187 A.D.3d 539 (1st Dept. 2020). This oversight in the Court of Claims Act blocks actually innocent people from filing a claim for wrongful conviction and should not continue. This bill will fix that error.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.