50-a

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New York State’s Section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law, created in 1976, kept the disciplinary records of police, firefighters, and prison officers confidential. Under the law, “personnel records” were not open to the public unless the officer agreed to release them or a court ordered access. The official reason was to protect officers who might serve as witnesses in trials from being unfairly targeted or subpoenaed by defense lawyers.

The law sparked fierce debate. Civil rights groups said it helped police avoid accountability and hid misconduct, describing 50-a as one of the strongest secrecy laws in the country. The New York Civil Liberties Union and other organizations argued that it made it hard to see when officers erred. Critics also said the public interest in transparency outweighed any need for secrecy.

A broad coalition of reform advocates began pushing for repeal after the 2014 killing of Eric Garner. In 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the public deserved access to these records. After the killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked global protests for police reform, the New York State Legislature moved quickly to repeal 50-a. On June 10, 2020, lawmakers voted to repeal, and on June 12, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the change into law, amending the Civil Rights Law to remove Section 50-a.

The repeal set off legal battles over how much information could be released. In July 2020, a federal judge temporarily blocked releasing some records, citing concerns about police and firefighter safety and employment. In February 2021, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that most of the records should be released, with only a minor category kept private.

Even after repeal, efforts to reveal disciplinary records continued. Investigative groups conducted wide-ranging requests across hundreds of agencies, but only a fraction responded with records. Advocates say the repeal was a crucial step toward greater police transparency and accountability, even as they push for stronger, ongoing oversight.