Drug law changes upset GOP lawmakers
Allow records to be sealed
A group of Republican state lawmakers Thursday said they are unhappy about a new law that permits courts to seal the criminal records of certain drug felons so there will be no record of their conviction when the offender applies for a job.
“Cocaine dealers or crack heads could end up teaching your child at school, caring for your toddler at day care or attending to your sick grandmother in the nursing home as a result of this shocking new law that hides the past of criminals,” said State Sen. Catharine M. Young, R-Olean.
Thursday afternoon, Sen. Michael H. Ranzenhofer, R-Amherst, spoke to a small crowd of nursing home residents gathered in the atrium at the Beechwood Continuing Care Center in Getzville to warn of the need to alter the provision. He was joined by Sen. Dale M. Volker, R-Depew, Beechwood President Robert Meiss and Mark Mondanaro, superintendent of the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District.
“They’re putting the drug dealers over your safety,” Ranzenhofer said, describing his objections to the law change. “It really doesn’t protect very vulnerable people. . . . All we need is one Democrat who will join us, and then we can repeal this.”
The Republican complaints center on legislation that passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor earlier this spring repealing the 1973 statutes now known as the “Rockefeller drug laws.” They are named for former Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and were seen as an effort by the liberal Republican to fashion a tougher approach on crime as he was preparing to run for president.
They mandated harsh prison terms even for many nonviolent drug offenders and took away some discretion from judges at sentencing.
Republicans especially object to a provision that passed as part of the state budget and takes effect June 8, in which courts may seal the criminal records of certain drug felons when they complete drug court, so there will be no record of their conviction when they apply for employment. Young said she was co-sponsoring legislation seeking to repeal that clause.
The political arm of Republicans in the Senate focused its attack on State Sen. William T. Stachowski, D-Lake View, who voted for the bill that repealed the Rockefeller drug laws. They cited news reports chronicling the criticism of various district attorneys across the state, saying Democrats have defended a provision “giving hoods and thugs a second chance.”
Stachowski was unavailable to comment late Thursday.
But Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubrey, D-Queens, chairman of the Assembly Crime and Corrections Committee, said the new law gives the same discretion to judges as the old one did to prosecutors. Now, he says Republicans are twisting the judgment of the Legislature and governor that it was best to return that power to judges. That’s why they call them “judges,” he said.
“It’s the same old Rockefeller argument,” Aubrey said. “Why is one side of the criminal-justice system any more trustworthy than another?”
Aubrey noted that district attorneys possessed the same discretion under the old system as do judges under the recently enacted laws. Judges can seal a drug offense record, he said, if they determine that the offender shows an ability to manage the problem, undergoes treatment and leads a law-abiding life.
He said the Republican Senate “seems to forget” that district attorneys were well represented in the way the new law was drafted and negotiated. He said it was ultimately decided that judges — who are also elected, represent public safety issues and are lawyers, like district attorneys—are best suited to handle such decisions.
“The issues are ones we have debated this year, and they lost,” Aubrey said. “Now they’re complaining about it. OK? Is there something new?”
News Staff Reporter Michelle Kearns contributed to this report. rmccarthy@buffnews.com
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