PART 106. Electronic Court Appearances

106.1 Authorization
106.2 Electronic appearance
106.3 Termination
106.4 Conditions and limitations
106.5 Record
106.6 to 106.7 [Repealed]

Section 106.1 Authorization.

In such counties authorized by law, a court exercising criminal jurisdiction may, except at a hearing or trial, dispense with the personal appearance of the defendant and conduct an electronic appearance in connection with a criminal action.

Historical Note
Sec. added by renum. 5.1, filed Feb. 2, 1982; repealed, new filed Dec. 6, 1993; amd. filed Jan. 29, 1999 eff. Jan. 27, 1999.

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Section 106.2 Electronic appearance.

(a) An electronic appearance shall consist of an appearance in which some of the participants, including the defendant, are not present in the court, but all of the participants are simultaneously visible and audible to one another by means of an independent audio-visual system.

(b) The independent audio-visual system must be approved by the Commission on Cable Television as technically suitable for the conducting of electronic appearances.

(c) A defendant may participate in an electronic appearance only upon his or her consent on the record after consultation with counsel.

(d) A defendant, on the record, may waive the presence of counsel at the place where the defendant is physically located, but the defendant and counsel must be able to see and hear each other and engage in private conversation.

Historical Note
Sec. added by renum. 5.2, filed Feb. 2, 1982; repealed, new filed Dec. 6, 1993 eff. Nov. 18, 1993.

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Section 106.3 Termination.

If the court determines on its own or on motion of any party that, for any reason, the conduct of the electronic appearance may impair the legal rights of the defendant, it shall not permit the electronic appearance to proceed. If either party requests at any time, for any articulated reason, that the electronic appearance be terminated, the court shall grant the request and adjourn the proceeding to a date certain. On the adjourned date, the court, if practicable, shall begin the proceeding from the point at which the request to terminate the electronic appearance had been granted.

Historical Note
Sec. added by renum. 5.3, filed Feb. 2, 1982; repealed, new filed Dec. 6, 1993 eff. Nov. 18, 1993.

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Section 106.4 Conditions and limitations.

The following conditions and limitations shall apply to all electronic appearances:

(a) The defendant may not enter a plea of guilty to, or be sentenced upon a conviction of, a felony.

(b) The defendant may not enter a plea of not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect.

(c) The defendant may not be committed to the State Department of Mental Hygiene pursuant to article 730 of the Criminal Procedure Law.

(d) The defendant may not enter a plea of guilty to a misdemeanor conditioned upon a promise of incarceration unless such incarceration will be imposed only in the event that the defendant fails to comply with a term or condition imposed under the original sentence.

(e) A defendant who has been convicted of a misdemeanor may not be sentenced to a period of incarceration that exceeds the time the defendant has already served when sentence is imposed.

Historical Note
Sec. added by renum. 5.4, filed Feb. 2, 1982; repealed, new filed Dec. 6, 1993 eff. Nov. 18, 1993.

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Section 106.5 Record.

(a) An electronic recording may be made of the electronic appearance, but this recording must remain within the custody of the clerk of the court that conducted the proceeding. No electronic recording may be released, duplicated, viewed or inspected without the permission, in writing, of the administrative judge for the court that conducted the proceeding.

(b) Stenographic recording of the electronic appearance shall be made, and shall be made available for inspection or copying, to the same extent and in the same manner as if it were an ordinary appearance rather than an electronic appearance.

Historical Note
Sec. added by renum. 5.5, filed Feb. 2, 1982; repealed, new filed Dec. 6, 1993 eff. Nov. 18, 1993.

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Section 106.6 to 106.7 [Repealed]

Historical Note
Secs. added by renum. 5.6-5.7, filed Feb. 2, 1982; repealed, filed Dec. 6, 1993 eff. Nov. 18, 1993
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