Unlawful prevention of public access to records · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 240.65 Unlawful prevention of public access to records.
A person is guilty of unlawful prevention of public access to records when, with intent to prevent the public inspection of a record pursuant to article six of the public officers law, he willfully conceals or destroys any such record.
Unlawful prevention of public access to records is a violation.
Willfully concealing or destroying a record to prevent public inspection under Public Officers Law article 6 is unlawful prevention of public access to records, a violation. ★
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.