Press release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C – Batavia) is sponsoring legislation that would require parents and legal guardians to report the death or disappearance of their child to law enforcement in a timely manner. “Caylee’s Law” comes on the heels of the highly publicized Casey Anthony murder trial in Florida, which has highlighted a glaring shortfall in New York state law that does not mandate such timely reporting. The pair of bills being co-sponsored by Assemblyman Hawley would close these loopholes.
“It is sad to think that it took the unfathomable circumstances leading to Caylee Anthony’s death to highlight the need for this legislation, but there will be progress made in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy,” Hawley said. “Parents, guardians and caretakers have the responsibility to report the death or disappearance of their child in a timely manner so that law enforcement may seek out the missing person and work to prevent other children from falling victim to similar circumstances. I am proud to join my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to make sure that “Caylee’s Law” will keep another child from suffering from the abuse and neglect that took Caylee’s life.”
Under the legislation, a person found guilty under “Caylee’s Law” would be charged with a felony.
This is another example of
This is another example of why little or nothing gets done in Albany, there are plenty of laws on the books. Mr. Hawley and his colleagues need to get to work on real problems instead of playing games.
Pretty soon, we will run out
Pretty soon, we will run out of cute little girl names for our populist, outraged-reaction laws.
Our fearless leaders will
Our fearless leaders will never run out of non-sensical causes to waste their time on while on the taxpayers dime...as long as real work needs to be done in Albany or Washington they will fight the urge to be productive with every breath of hot air they breath. You can rest assured nothing will ever get done.....not on this watch...no never....you have their promise, take them at their word.
...Another knee-jerk,
...Another knee-jerk, bandwagon-jumping, fluffernutter bill with typical lack of depth and plenty of pie-in-the-sky political pandering. This bill addresses NONE of the supremely important issues in our state and presents a springboard for all manner of legal entanglements: When does the clock start? At the time of death? At the time of discovery of death? If the reporting deadline is 24 hours, what if the medical examiner cannot make an accurate determination on time of death? What if the child is not in parental custody at the time of death? What if the child dies in sleep and isn't discovered for hours? The proposed law (gleened from an internet petition site) does nothing but add distraction to the investigative process and potentially criminalize parents when no crime has been committed.
Mr. Hawley would have been better served announcing this on April 1st and retracting the announcement a day later, explaining it was an April Fool joke. ...If (for no other reason) having implied that New York State is as screwed up as Florida!
we do not need more laws, we
we do not need more laws, we got laws we don't enforce now, get busy with impotent stuff , stop goofing off and do your job.no more laws for this stuff, enforce the ones we got.
...Might want to add an R (or
...Might want to add an R (or at least an apostrophe if you are trying to import dialect) to one of the words in your comment, William.
God bless William Tapp and
God bless William Tapp and C.M. Barons. Each one is a delight in his own special way.
Pandering is beneath you
Pandering is beneath you Steve, you should be ashamed. I guess you can see that the tide is turning and we can see that you are running scared.
I am glad to see Caylee's
I am glad to see Caylee's Law. I just hope that this will help other parents who have children missing. It was a shame about Caylee Marie Anthony. She was a beautiful little girl.
Beside's Caylee's case, can
Beside's Caylee's case, can anyone name one, just one other case where a parent failed to report a missing child in a timely manner?
Unforunately, a law like this
Unforunately, a law like this is needed and there are many cases throughout the country that have happened. Casey Anthony just happened to get famous cause she was such a sick and horrific liar and had so much media attention. There was a case in the last year in Orangeburg, SC where a little boy was buried in concrete in a barrel behind a trailer and literally forgotten about by his father and his girlfriend. They did not report him missing until the mother demanded to know where he was a few months later. I believe they actually had to xray the barrel to determine if there was a body inside. Then do dna analysis after breaking through the concrete. There are other cases. Usually by a parent/guardian that harmed the child. However, I agree with others that NY has better things to do right now. More thought needs to be put into a law than picking up an internet petition. I agree that boundaries need to be set up on when to report, how to report, where to report, etc. You can't just make a crusade over a little girl's death (that did not occur in this state) and not have thought how that law will affect people. What if my daughter went to a friend's house after school and didn't tell me (She wouldn't, but what if she did). I didn't know where she was for say 2 hours. Would I be arrested then? Just a thought...
Let me get this
Let me get this straight...the father and his girlfriend buried a child in concrete and did not notify the authorities until the mother demanded to know where the child was a couple of months later.....HE AND THE GF DIDN'T FORGET, THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT....
From nysenate.gov: According
From nysenate.gov:
According to the State Division of Criminal Justice Services, 20,309 children were reported missing in New York State in 2010. The latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice indicate that 797,500 children were reported missing in a one year period.
The reports does not tell us how many children are missing that are NOT reported.
and from a times union blog:
State Sen. Andrew Lanza will introduce “Caylee’s Law,” a bill establishing a class E Felony that could be brought against a parent or guardian fails to report a child in their custody missing within 24 hours of disappearance. (The bill is currently in draft form, according to his spokeswoman.)
The Bill has not even been writen yet? Hawley is supporting a bill that has not been writen?
I would like to see what other eramarks they sneak into this one! (Like Leandra's law that made it a felony to drive drunk with a minor in the car that had the interlock device hidden in red tape)
This whole issue is a reactionary BS, and more nonsensical poppycock!
Get to work at fixing NY's budget and stop writing/supporting such non-sence!
as far as the dead kid in the
as far as the dead kid in the barrel, if I remember that story right the father and his girlfriend were both convicted of murder, so if this law was in place would it have made any difference?
Howard asked for another
Howard asked for another instance, I gave him one. Correct the father was convicted of murder. Not sure if the girlfriend was convicted of murder or accessory. You are right, he did not want to be caught. He didn't forget. Claimed he "forgot".
I feel so much safer now that
I feel so much safer now that Steve has taken this position.
I'm wondering though...where does he stand on motherhood and apple pie??
WOW....tough crowd....
WOW....tough crowd....
Still laughing over William's
Still laughing over William's assertion that Albany has to "get busy with impotent stuff"
That's the problem they're so
That's the problem they're so busy in Albany with the "IMPOTENT" stuff the "IMPORTANT" stuff goes undone.....To quote Pogo "We have met they enemy, and it is us".
Posted by Billie Owens on
Posted by Billie Owens on July 19, 2011 - 7:10pm
God bless William Tapp and C.M. Barons. Each one is a delight in their own special way.
In the words of the great American philosopher Larry the Cable Guy. " I don't care who you are, that right there is funny"
Don't blame me, Howard is the
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgrrQwLdME8]
Don't blame me, Howard is the one who showed us how to post videos.
Here's a quick lesson on how
Here's a quick lesson on how legislation works. The law is written in general terms by the legislature, and then the finer details are hammered out by the executive branch. There are very few laws that contain the level of specificity that some of the commentators here are looking for.
Many of you accuse Assemblyman Hawley of political pandering, but aren't many of you just taking an opportunity to further your political agenda by disagreeing with him? The fact is this was a loophole in Florida law that allowed Casey Anthony to escape any punishment for a crime of which it seems quite likely she was guilty. If the legislation had been in place, a criminal would be behind bars instead of freely living her life. The same loophole exists in New York. The hope of the legislation is that no one will be able to avoid his comeuppance if a similar situation were to happen here. I'm not sure how you can say this is a bad thing.
As important as the fiscal issues facing our state are, we can't forget that the states have a plenary police power to provide for the common welfare of their citizens. I think it's hardly fair to suggest that passing a law to protect citizens is in some way any less important than, say, providing mandate relief. Both of these issues are incredibly important for WNY and must be addressed by the state legislature.
Whats next, The Florida jury
Whats next, The Florida jury Law, Any one caught protesting a juries decision 48 hours after rendering the verdict can be charged with inciting a riot. lol.
Quick lesson in how a
Quick lesson in how a jury-trial works: if the jury finds the defendant 'not guilty,' then any supposition otherwise is idle speculation. And politicians who embrace idle speculation and write laws that second-guess our courts are pandering. ...Pandering (oddly enough) to vigilantism.
There were other charges made beside murder, and she was found guilty of providing false information to police. One assumes that she could also have been charged with obstruction of justice- which can be prosecuted as a felony charge. Alternatives currently exist; there is no need for additional law (other than to ride the Caylee Circus coattail) to cover any 'loopholes.'
Thanks, George, every time
Thanks, George, every time you and others post a silly video, I'm lured into the You Tube rabbit hole for longer than I'd like and, typically, come out with something like this. (Little ones sure are precious.)
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvAy2lEG__w&feature=related]
Casey Anthony got away with a
Casey Anthony got away with a crime not because there were insufficient laws on the books to prosecute her, but because she was prosecuted for crimes for which there was not sufficient evidence to win a conviction.
That's a DA's screw up, not the law's screw up.
Every new law makes society more complicated, wastes taxpayer money and does nothing to make anybody safer.
The criminal law code needs no new additions. If anything, it needs subtractions.
News flash for Cooper
News flash for Cooper Hawley....As to how the legislative process works, laws are not written in general terms and the finer details left to the executive branch to hammer out. Laws are very specific when written and sent to the executive who in most cases either signs or vetos the law which is then enacted. The most notable exception is the line item veto granted some executives when dealing with budget matters. Laws vetoed by the excutive can be overturned with a super majority in most instances. Laws can be nullified by the courts if the law or ordinance does not comply with the constitutions of either the state or the U.S. Constitution...
Your defence of this piece of legislation makes nearly as much sense as your quick lesson on the legislative process. The proposed law is a waste of the taxpayers money and does nothing to prevent any crime, it is a kneejerk reaction to a verdict that the Assemblyman and his cronies disagree with. The jury found Casey Anthony not guilty, our system is based on the presumption that the accused in innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Now Assemblyman Hawley wants to jump on the bandwagon with a headline grabber that fell flat.
The only political agenda that I have read is people like myself wanting the politicians in Albany to stop wasting time and money on nonsense and get to work solving the serious and important problems we face here in New York.
It is particularly hilarious
It is particularly hilarious that Hawley would jump on this pander-wagon after reading this:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Stephen-Hawley/story/43537/
@Cooper, aren't you in law
@Cooper, aren't you in law school? Don't you think the DA should have considered bringing a charge it could actually prove? Or do you think maybe, just maybe, the idea of pushing a death penalty case that seemed like a PR slam dunk was too much to resist?
Cooper is in law school? Wow
Cooper is in law school? Wow didn't see that one coming....
Chris, the whole case
Chris, the whole case backfired on the prosecution, Baez
walks away with a smile, fame, and most certainly, fortune.
A simple manslaughter charge would have most likely garnered a guilty verdict.
This is copied from Steve
This is copied from Steve Hawley's page that Brandon provided the link for:
"Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C – Batavia) spoke out against the misguided priorities being displayed by the Assembly in the closing hours of the 2011 legislative session. While vital issues like mandate relief and a property tax cap loom unfinished, a bill to regulate the sale of bear gall bladders and bile was debated for a prolonged stint this evening on the Assembly floor.
“With rampant unemployment plaguing Western New York, local governments drowning under the weight of unfunded state mandates, and families and businesses fleeing the state in droves, the Assembly decided the task at hand this evening was to legislate the sale of animal digestive systems,” said Hawley. “Frankly, if the taxpayers of this state were to see the lack of focus and priorities on display in the people’s house, they would be appalled by their own representation. With precious little time to accomplish the litany of outstanding issues that truly matter to taxpayers, tonight’s debate was a staggering exercise in futility and particularly galling.”
Thank you Mr. Hawley for pointing out how you and our elected representitives in the NY State Assembly waste their time and the taxpayers money, then providing the perfect example. Perhaps Mr. Hawley might consider writing a "How-to-waste-time on the taxpayer's dime manuel" for the next orientation session for newly elected members.
"Frankly, if the taxpayers of
"Frankly, if the taxpayers of this state were to see the lack of focus and priorities on display in the people’s house, they would be appalled by their own representation."
Who's to say we aren't already appalled?
Apalled only starts to cover
Apalled only starts to cover the negative feelings our elected officials are generating from the "taxpayers".