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Senate bill · S6319 (2025-26)

Relates to motions to vacate judgment; repealer

Latest action Jun 3, 2026

New York State Senate

Same as A7422, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Sponsor

Zellnor Myrie

State Senator, District 20 · Democratic

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Summary

Relates to motions to vacate judgment; authorizes filing motions to vacate judgment for a conviction that was subsequently decriminalized; authorizes motions to vacate judgment to be filed at any time after entry of a judgment obtained at trial or by plea; repeals certain provisions relating thereto.

Summary from NY Open Legislation. How we handle summaries

Amends the Criminal Procedure Law.

From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Oct 22, 2026. About our data

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Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

Section 1 adds sections 440.00 to the Criminal Procedure Law, which defines the term "applicant" as a person previously convicted of a crime who is applying for relief under this article. Section 1 also adds section 440.11 to the Criminal Procedure Law, which provides specific grounds for vacating a judgment due to decriminalization of the appli- cant's act that led to his or her conviction, or a change in a law applied in the process leading to the applicant's conviction that calls for retroactive application of the new legal standard. If a court grants a motion under this section, it must vacate the judgment on the merits, dismiss the accusatory instrument, seal the judgment, and take addi- tional appropriate action as needed. Section 2 amends multiple subdivisions of section 440.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Section 3 amends multiple subdivisions of section 440.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Section 4 amends multiple subdivisions of section 440.30 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Section 5 amends multiple subdivisions of section 450.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law. Section 6 repeals subdivision 5 of section 450.10 of the Criminal Proce- dure Law. Section 7 adds a new subdivision 7 in section 216 of the Judiciary Law, which requires the chief administrator of the court to report annually on the number of post-conviction applications and motions filed annually in each county and appellate department in the state and to post the aggregated data on the websites of the office of court administration and the division of criminal justice services. Section 8 creates a severability clause. Section 9 provides the effective date.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Where it stands

Passed one of the two chambers; it still needs the other.

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Up for a vote
  4. Passed one chamber
  5. Passed
  6. Enacted

Committee

Codes · New York State Assembly

Also referred to Codes · New York State Senate.

Cosponsors

Al Taylor, Alex Bores and 54 more on Agora

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab)
  • Democratic56

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

Show the full list (56 names)

The sponsor's argument

Why Zellnor Myrie says this is needed

New York State is 3rd in the nation for the highest number of wrongful convictions. New York also plea bargains 98% of felony cases. Yet, indi- viduals who plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence are the least likely to be exonerated due to enormous structural barriers. These people are often under tremendous pressure to plead guilty when bail is unaffordable, or the pre-trial process is prolonged for a substantial period. Post-conviction review processes are necessary in both cases that went to trial and those that ended in a plea deal. This bill amends section 440 of the Criminal Procedure Law governing post-judgment motions by removing procedural barriers and further ensuring meaningful review is performed. In short, if there is evidence of a person's inno- cence, courts will now have a legal mechanism to review the case and vacate the conviction where appropriate. In the 2018 case of People v. Tiger, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that individuals who plead guilty cannot challenge their convictions unless they have DNA evidence to support their innocence. This bill not only requires courts to order hearings in cases with colorable claims of innocence but also allows for the admission of various types of evidence to support such claims. The convicted will also be entitled to retain defense counsel for post-conviction relief, have the court appoint pro bono representation if the applicant cannot afford an attorney, request re-testing of physical evidence, and access both the defense and prose- cution's discovery files. The bill further expands protections for people exposed to significant collateral consequences from their convictions. Although the New York State legislature has taken some steps to reform the pre-trial process, there are still numerous individuals who obtained criminal records in years prior as a result of plainly unfair and coer- cive tactics. This bill also brings New York law in line with five other states and the District of Columbia that have mechanisms for people to clear old convictions for crimes that have subsequently been decriminal- ized. Finally, throughout this bill, the term defendant is replaced with applicant in an effort to humanize those seeking redress under the Crim- inal Procedure Law of New York. New York State must act to right past wrongs and allow people wrongfully or improperly convicted in previous decades to clear their names and their records. This requires a fundamental overhaul of our state's post- judgment process.

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.

Recorded votes

  • Vote: Floor vote

    NY SenateJun 3, 2026Result: passed

    (39) (22) (0) (2)

  • Vote: Committee vote · Codes

    Senate CodesMay 18, 2026Result: passed

    (10) (3) (0) (0)

Full history

  1. Jun 3, 2026

    In committee

    COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES

    NY Senate

  2. Jun 3, 2026

    Sent to the executive

    DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

    NY Senate

  3. Jun 3, 2026

    Ordered to Third Reading CAL.1620

    ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1620

    NY Senate

  4. Jun 3, 2026

    Passed a chamber

    PASSED SENATE

    NY Senate

  5. May 18, 2026

    Reported out of committee

    REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE

    NY Senate

Show full history (10 earlier events)
  1. Apr 22, 2026

    Amend and Recommit to Ways and Means

    AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO WAYS AND MEANS

    NY Assembly

  2. Mar 30, 2026

    Amend and Recommit to Codes

    AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CODES

    NY Senate

  3. Mar 24, 2026

    Reported out of committee

    REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS

    NY Assembly

  4. Feb 24, 2026

    Amend (t) and Recommit to Codes

    AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO CODES

    NY Senate

  5. Feb 9, 2026

    Amend (t) and Recommit to Codes

    AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO CODES

    NY Assembly

  6. Jan 7, 2026

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO CODES

    NY Senate

  7. Jan 7, 2026

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO CODES

    NY Assembly

  8. Jun 9, 2025

    Amend (t) and Recommit to Codes

    AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO CODES

    NY Assembly

  9. Mar 25, 2025

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO CODES

    NY Assembly

  10. Mar 10, 2025

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO CODES

    NY Senate