N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 4.109

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 36, September 4, 2024

Section 4.109 - Executive order no. 109: establishing the committee to review requests for the appointment of a special prosecutor

WHEREAS, The Executive Law authorizes the appointment of a special prosecutor to supersede a district attorney in certain instances;

WHEREAS, District Attorneys are constitutional officers with broad authority to prosecute all crimes committed within their jurisdiction;

WHEREAS, To preserve this constitutional balance, before superseding the authority of a constitutionally elected district attorney there should be adequate evidence that, in the absence of other effective relief available by law, the district attorney has become incapacitated or is unfit or unable generally or in a particular case to proceed; and

WHEREAS, It is desirable to establish a mechanism for determining whether this standard for superseding a district attorney generally or in a particular case has been met:

NOW THEREFORE, I, Mario M. Cuomo, governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of the State of New York, do hereby reestablish the existing Committee to Review Requests for the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor, now by Executive Order:

I. Membership

Members of the committee shall consist of the State Director of Criminal Justice, who shall be the chairperson of the committee, the Counsel to the Governor, the First Assistant Counsel to the Governor, and two members of the Governor's Cabinet appointed by the Governor.

II. Powers and Responsibilities

The committee shall function at the request of the Governor. It shall, when called upon:

1. consider and evaluate individual requests for the appointment of a special prosecutor by making as full an investigation as is deemed necessary;

2. obtain the response of the local district attorney and any comments of other law enforcement officials involved;

3. report to the Governor the nature of the request and the response of the local district attorney; and

4. recommend to the Governor whether additional action pursuant to section 63 of the Executive Law should be taken, including whether the Attorney General should be asked to use the powers granted to his office by section 63(8) of that law.

The findings and conclusions of the committee shall be made available for public inspection unless the committee determines that disclosure would impair an ongoing investigation or otherwise be contrary to law.

Signed: Mario M. CuomoDated: February 9, 1988

[FN[DAGGER]] [Revoked by Executive Order No. 5 (Eliot Spitzer), infra.]

[Revoked by Executive Order No. 9 (David A. Paterson), infra.]

[Revoked by Executive Order No. 2 (Andrew M. Cuomo), infra.]

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 4.109