NY S06260

Creates a new procedure allowing individuals to vacate convictions when the offense has been decriminalized or when there has been a substantive or procedural change in law that warrants retroactive application

Expands grounds for vacating judgments to include convictions for misdemeanors with ongoing collateral consequences (including immigration consequences), class D or E felonies with one-year sentences, and offenses deemed unconstitutional by appellate or federal courts

Requires courts to assign counsel to indigent applicants seeking relief and mandates disclosure of discovery within 30 days, including prosecution files, defense counsel files, court records, and probation records

Removes procedural barriers that previously allowed courts to deny motions based on failure to raise issues on appeal or in prior proceedings, and requires courts to hold hearings on colorable actual innocence claims regardless of prior motions

Establishes that if evidence requested for forensic DNA testing no longer exists or cannot be located, the court must grant the applicant's motion and vacate the judgment