Rules of evidence; admissibility of evidence of victim's manner of dress in sex offense cases · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 60.48 Rules of evidence; admissibility of evidence of victim's manner
of dress in sex offense cases.
Evidence of the manner in which the victim was dressed at the time of the commission of an offense may not be admitted in a prosecution for any offense, or an attempt to commit an offense, defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law, unless such evidence is determined by the court to be relevant and admissible in the interests of justice, after an offer of proof by the proponent of such evidence outside the hearing of the jury, or such hearing as the court may require, and a statement by the court of its findings of fact essential to its determination.
In a prosecution for an offense or attempted offense under Penal Law article 130, evidence of how the victim was dressed at the time of the offense may not be admitted unless, after an offer of proof outside the jury’s hearing and any required hearing, the court finds it relevant and admissible in the interests of justice and states the essential findings of fact. ★
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.
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.