NY S09475

Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop and publish "race-blind charging" guidelines by January 1, 2027, mandating all prosecution agencies implement a process where initial case reviews are conducted using documents with racial identifiers of suspects, victims, and witnesses removed or redacted

Beginning January 1, 2028, prosecution agencies must conduct a two-stage charging process: first, a race-blind initial evaluation using redacted police reports and criminal histories to determine whether to charge, followed by a complete review with unredacted materials to determine specific charges

Redaction may be performed mechanically, by hand (by personnel not involved in charging), or through automated computer programming, and must be done by someone without knowledge of the redacted facts for that case

Agencies must document and retain records when the initial race-blind evaluation and second review reach different charging decisions, including explanations for the change, which must be disclosed upon request after sentencing or dismissal

Certain crime categories may be excluded from race-blind review, including homicides, hate crimes, domestic violence, sex crimes, gang crimes, cases with video evidence of physical confrontations, and complex financial crimes where redaction is impractical