Bribing a witness · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 215.00 Bribing a witness.
A person is guilty of bribing a witness when he confers, or offers or agrees to confer, any benefit upon a witness or a person about to be called as a witness in any action or proceeding upon an agreement or understanding that (a) the testimony of such witness will thereby be influenced, or (b) such witness will absent himself from, or otherwise avoid or seek to avoid appearing or testifying at, such action or proceeding.
Bribing a witness is a class D felony.
A person bribes a witness by giving, offering, or agreeing to give any benefit to a witness or prospective witness on the understanding that it will influence the testimony or cause the witness to stay away from or avoid appearing or testifying in the action or proceeding. ★ The offense is a class D felony.
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 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.