New York State Law

Civil Rights Law

Consolidated Laws of New York's CVR code

Search New York State Laws

When searching by article number, DO NOT include terms like, 'abc', 'civil', 'cpl', 'pl', 'penal', 'vtl', 'att', attempt', 'article', 'degree', 'section', 'sec' or include a '-' in your search phrase. Just enter the number. For best results DO NOT include a sub-section number or letter.

Article 2 - NY Civil Rights Law

NY Laws ›
Civil Rights Law ›
Article 2 ›
Sections 2 - 15

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section	Description
2	Supreme sovereignty in the people.
3	Levying taxes and charges.
4	Right to keep and bear arms.
5	Military service by citizens.
6	Exemption from military service.
7	Quartering soldiers.
8	Right of search and seizure.
9	Freedom of elections.
10	Justice to be administered without favor and speedily.
11	Fines must be reasonable and imposed only for cause.
12	Rights of persons accused of crime.
13	Right to serve on juries.
14	Jurors not to be questioned for verdicts.
15	Right of appeal not to be denied.

  S 2.  Supreme  sovereignty  in  the  people. No authority can, on any
  pretence whatsoever, be exercised over the citizens of this  state,  but
  such  as  is  or shall be derived from and granted by the people of this
  state.

  S 3. Levying  taxes  and  charges.   No tax, duty, aid or imposition
  whatsoever, except such as may be laid by a law of  the  United  States,
  can  be  taken or levied within this state, without the grant and assent
  of the people of this state, by  their  representatives  in  senate  and
  assembly;  and no citizen of this state can be by any means compelled to
  contribute to any gift, loan, tax, or other like  charge,  not  laid  or
  imposed  by  a  law  of the United States, or by the legislature of this
  state.

  S 4. Right  to  keep  and  bear arms. A well regulated militia being
  necessary to the security of a free state, the right of  the  people  to
  keep and bear arms cannot be infringed.

  S 5. Military  service by citizens.  No citizen of this state can be
  constrained to arm himself, or to go out  of  this  state,  or  to  find
  soldiers  or  men of arms, either horsemen or footmen, without the grant
  and assent of the people of this  state,  by  their  representatives  in
  senate  and  assembly, except in the cases specially provided for by the
  constitution of the United States.

  S 6. Exemption  from  military service. All such inhabitants of this
  state of any  religious  denomination  whatever,  as  from  scruples  of
  conscience may be averse to bearing arms, are to be excused therefrom by
  paying  to  the  state  an  equivalent  in money; and the legislature is
  required to provide by law for the collection of such equivalent, to  be
  estimated  according  to  the expense, in time and money, of an ordinary
  able-bodied militiaman.

  S 7. Quartering soldiers. No soldier can in time of peace be quartered
  in  any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but
  in a manner to be prescribed by law.

  S 8. Right of search and seizure. The right of the people to be secure
  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers  and  effects, against unreasonable
  searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants can  issue
  but   upon   probable  cause  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and
  particularly describing the place to be searched,  and  the  persons  or
  things to be seized.

  S 9. Freedom  of  elections.  All elections ought to be free; and no
  person by force of arms, malice, menacing, or otherwise, should  presume
  to  disturb  or hinder any citizen of this state in the free exercise of
  the right of suffrage.

  S 10. Justice to be administered without favor and speedily.  Neither
  justice nor right  should  be  sold  to  any  person,  nor  denied,  nor
  deferred;  and  writs and process ought to be granted freely and without
  delay, to all persons  requiring  the  same,  on  payment  of  the  fees
  established by law.

  S 11. Fines must be reasonable and imposed only for cause. No citizen
  of this state ought to be fined or amerced without reasonable cause, and
  such fine or amercement should always be proportioned to the  nature  of
  the offense.

  S 12. Rights   of  persons  accused  of  crime.  In  all  criminal
  prosecutions, the accused has a right to a speedy and public  trial,  by
  an  impartial  jury,  and  is  entitled to be informed of the nature and
  cause of the accusation; to be confronted  with  the  witnesses  against
  him;  and  to  have  compulsory  process  for obtaining witnesses in his
  favor. An alien is not entitled to a jury, composed in part of aliens or
  strangers, in an action or special proceeding civil or criminal.

  S 13. Right to serve on juries. No citizen of the state possessing all
  other  qualifications which are or may be required or prescribed by law,
  shall be disqualified to serve as a grand or petit juror in any court of
  this state on account of race, creed, color, national origin or sex, and
  any person charged with any duty in the selection or summoning of jurors
  who shall exclude or fail to summon any citizen for any  of  the  causes
  aforesaid   shall,   on  conviction  thereof,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a
  misdemeanor and be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than
  five hundred dollars or imprisoned not less than thirty days,  nor  more
  than ninety days, or both such fine and imprisonment.

  S 14. Jurors not to be questioned for verdicts. A juror shall not be
  questioned, and is not subject to an action, or other liability civil or
  criminal, for a verdict rendered by him, in an  action  in  a  court  of
  record,  or not of record, or in a special proceeding before an officer,
  except by indictment, for corrupt conduct, in a case prescribed by law.

  S 15. Right of appeal not to be denied. Notwithstanding the provisions
  of  any  general  or special law to the contrary, a citizen shall not be
  deprived of the right to appeal to the legislature,  or  to  any  public
  officer,  board,  commission  or  other  public body, for the redress of
  grievances, on account of employment in the civil service of  the  state
  or any of its civil divisions or cities.

Top of Page

The laws of the State of New York are consistently amended, repealed and/or entirely rewritten. This site strives to publish the current laws; however, official reporters should be consulted for the most up-to-date statutory language. No warranties, express or implied, or representations as to the accuracy of content on this website are made. This website and its owners assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omission in the information contained in the website or the operation of the website.