By The New York State Bar Association

The Task Force analyzed the newly-enacted New York State Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act (the “Neumann Act”), New York Penal Law § 485, which recognizes mass killings motivated by hate as acts of terrorism by creating two terrorism offenses: domestic acts of terrorism motivated by hate in the first and second degrees. The Neumann Act also amends the definition of “specified offense” in the hate crimes statute to include terrorism crimes and establishes a Domestic Terrorism Task Force comprised of members of New York government and law enforcement.

The Task Force also considered possible additional legislation to address hate crimes. First, the Task Force recommends further study of two possible changes to criminal statutes—it considered but ultimately rejected an amendment to the definition of “civilian population” in current terrorism statutes, and recommends consideration of a proposal to align New York’s definition of “material support or resources” with the federal definition. Second, the Task Force considered possible methods of addressing a rise in low-level hate-motivated offenses—it recommends further study of the proposal to attend mandatory counselling or training, and rejects the possibility of adding a rebuttable presumption of intent to § 485. Third, the Task Force recommends further study of possible civil causes of action for hate crimes and domestic terrorism, including expanded causes of action under New York State civil rights law, and amendments to New York Not-for-Profit Law, Business Corporation Law, and Limited Liability Law to prevent recovery of property from entities that provide support to terrorist causes. Fourth, the Task Force recommends an increase in law enforcement resources to prosecute hate crimes, including making hate crimes a designated offense to facilitate wiretaps and additional training of law enforcement on hate crime issues. Finally, the Task Force notes a surge in anti-Asian and anti-Semitic hate crimes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a rise in hate-motivated attacks associated with COVID-19 via online platforms. These attacks and incidents highlight the urgent need for law enforcement and lawmakers to take action to curb hate crimes.

Albany: The Bar Association, 2020/ 41p.

By The New York State Bar Association

"Hate crimes . . . leave deep scars not only on the victims, but on our larger community. They weaken the sense that we are one people with common values and a common future. They tear us apart when we should be moving closer together. They are acts of violence against America itself. . . ." President Clinton made the foregoing speech 16 years ago. Today, the situation has only worsened with antisemitic hate crimes spiking on the heels of years of increased anti-Asian hate crimes. In October 2023, the FBI released data that shows hate crimes in the U.S. at their highest since data collection began in 1991. The Anti-Defamation League reported 2,000 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. through July 2023 and a 337% uptick in incidents after Hamas' October 7th attack on Israel. Similarly, from 2020–21, anti-Asian hate crimes spiked 339%. Almost daily, the headlines are filled with stories like the gunfire in front of an Albany synagogue in December 2023. Despite these dire statistics and reports, bar associations have not systematically studied this problem, a void which led NYSBA President Richard Lewis to convene this task force to examine the problem of hate crimes with a focus on those directed at the Asian American and Jewish communities. As President Lewis stated: “Antisemitic and anti-Asian bias in America is overt and disturbing, and it is increasing exponentially…We have launched this task force because we are at a crossroads, and left unchecked, we can only expect that crimes against these two vulnerable groups will continue to spiral out of control.” The task force has been grappling with the scourge of hate crimes, which present a clear and present danger to many, but most strikingly to New Yorkers. The members of our task force worked hard to put these recommendations together in the last several months. We held dozens of meetings, scoured the available literature, and met with prominent officials in the law enforcement and educational sectors. The dedication and talent of the task force has enabled us to put together the concrete recommendations contained in this report. Like bar associations, society as a whole has devoted insufficient attention to hate crimes despite the gravity of the problem. As a result, the statutory framework governing hate crimes contains gaps in the definition of hate crimes and in the coverage of the hate crime statute – deficiencies that are addressed in our report. Equally problematic are the mechanisms for reporting hate crimes, including the lack of a requirement that law enforcement in New York report hate crimes to a central state authority.

Our report follows the commendable work of the 2020 NYSBA task force on Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes. This groundbreaking report was focused on federal laws addressing acts of domestic terrorism.3 Not long after its publication, the wave of hate crimes against Asian Americans and the spike in antisemitic hate crimes ensued, necessitating our task force and this report. This report begins with analyses of antisemitic and anti-Asian hate crimes, including the history of antisemitism and anti-Asian hate – two forms of bias that have deep and disturbing roots. Far from a new phenomenon, antisemitism is as old as civilization itself. And anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. span the history of our country. See pages 9-10 below. Our report focuses on the recent waves of hate crimes ignited by exogenous catalysts: the COVID-19 pandemic in the case of anti-Asian hate crimes and the Hamas attacks of October 2023 in the case of antisemitic hate crimes. Our report addresses the disturbing increases in the rates of hate crimes during these recent troubled times.

Albany: The Bar Association 2024. 47p.