CPL § 185.10

Definition of terms · as in force on May 31, 2026

* § 185.10 Definition of terms.

As used in this article:

1. "Independent audio-visual system" shall mean an electronic system for the transmission and receiving of audio and visual signals, encompassing encoded signals, frequency domain multiplexing or other suitable means to preclude the unauthorized reception and decoding of the signals by commercially available television receivers, channel converters, or other available receiving devices.

2. "Electronic arraignment" means an arraignment in which various participants, including the defendant, are not personally present in the court but in which all of the participants are simultaneously able to see and hear reproductions of the voices and images of the judge, counsels, defendant, police officer and any other appropriate participant, by means of an independent audio-visual system. * NB Expired September 1, 1983

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/185.10

In plain English

(1) An independent audio-visual system transmits and receives audio and visual signals using encoding, frequency domain multiplexing or other means so ordinary commercial receivers cannot receive or decode them.
(2) An electronic arraignment is one in which participants, including the defendant, are not personally present in court, but all can simultaneously see and hear the judge, counsel, defendant, police officer and others through an independent audio-visual system. ★ The section is marked expired September 1, 1983.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Officer: Criminal Procedure Law; Volume 2 — Your Career: Criminal Procedure in Plain English.