After years of advocacy, state Assembly bill A101A, which prohibits the use of intoxication of the victim as a defense in sex crimes, has yet to come to the Assembly floor for a vote despite having broad member support and passing the state Senate multiple times.
“I believe if the bill came to the floor, it would pass, but can I guarantee that? No,” said Democratic Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz.
Dinowitz, the Assembly sponsor, says once the 2027 legislative session begins, he plans on reintroducing the proposal which he says he initially introduced six years ago.
“I would hope that more people decide that they’re more concerned about the victims of sexual assault then they are about the people who commit the assaults,” said Dinowitz. “Frankly, some people don’t want to create a situation where more people would go to jail because under this bill, more people probably would go to jail.”
Minister Peace, the executive director of Community for a Cause, says he’s been working on getting this measure passed since 2019. He says the proposal doesn’t guarantee conviction. He says what it does do is change New York law so a charge can be brought up.
“The burden of proof stays the same,” said Peace. “What changes is that we agree that incapacitated isn’t capacitated. We no longer say incapacitated only matters if your drink was spiked. What it does guarantee is that if it happens to anyone, they can at least see their perpetrator go to court. The evidence still has to be reviewed. The burden of proof is still on the prosecutor. The jury still has to make up their mind unanimously.”
Jane Manning is a former state sex crimes prosecutor. Manning now works as the director of Women’s Equal Justice, an organization that serves survivors of sexual assault.
She addresses some of the concerns critics have about the proposal.
“There are people who are concerned that individuals may be prosecuted under this law for having drunk sex,” said Manning. “That’s really not what the bill targets. In fact, the bill is very, very specific. That the perpetrator has to know or the person in the perpetrator’s situation has to be able to know that the victim is incapacitated.”
During this past legislative session, this measure had bipartisan support in the Assembly with more than 90 members cosponsoring it.
Spectrum News 1 reached out to the Assembly speaker’s office for comment for this report and did not immediately hear back.
Advocates tell Spectrum News 1 as they work on drumming up support for the new legislative session, they’re encouraging people to call their assemblymembers and let them know they support this measure.