02/13/1997 01:40 PM House FIN

  HOUSE BILL NO. 9                                                             
                                                                               
       "An  Act  relating to  the right  of crime  victims and                 
       victims of  juvenile offenses  to be  present at  court                 
       proceedings; and  amending  Rule 615,  Alaska Rules  of                 
       Evidence."                                                              
                                                                               
  Representative   Porter  provided   members  with   a  draft                 
  committee substitute, Work  Draft #O-LS008\H, dated  2/12/97                 
  (copy on file).                                                              
                                                                               
  Representative Porter  noted that  the committee  substitute                 
  includes provisions proposed by the Governor.  He maintained                 
  that the Governor's  bill is  complementary to the  original                 
  principal that victims have a right  to be present in court,                 
  anytime  that the defendant has the right to be present.  He                 
  provided members with  a sectional analysis of  the proposed                 
  committee substitute.  He  reviewed the sectional  analysis.                 
  Sections 1, 2, 14 19, and  20 of this Act clarify the  right                 
  of crime victims to  be present at all criminal  or juvenile                 
  proceedings where the accused  or juvenile has the  right to                 
  be present.                                                                  
                                                                               
  Sections 3,  4, 5, and 6  create an exception to  the weekly                 
  earnings and liquid assets exemptions to allow a victim, who                 
  is attempting to collect on an order of restitution, to levy                 
  upon  assets  held  by a  prisoner  outside  an institution.                 
  Currently,  assets   outside  the   institution  cannot   be                 
  collected on a restitution by a  victim.  Under present law,                 
  assets held inside the institution  are already available to                 
  victims under AS 09.38.030(f).                                               
                                                                               
  Section 7 amends  the definition  of "incapacitated" in  the                 
  sexual assault statutes.  The  amendment takes out "and" and                 
  puts in "or".  Sexual Assault in the Third Degree prohibits,                 
  for example,  sexual contact with a person  who the offender                 
  knows is incapacitated.   The definition is amended so  that                 
  the State, in proving  its case, must prove either  that the                 
  victim was temporarily unable to appraise  the nature of his                 
  or her conduct, or that the victim was temporarily unable to                 
  express  unwillingness  to  act.   At  present  the statutes                 
  require the State  to prove both  in order to establish  its                 
  case.                                                                        
  Section 8 adds a  new provision to the criminal  code making                 
  it  a class A misdemeanor to interfere  with a person who is                 
  reporting or attempting to report  a domestic violence crime                 
  to the police.  These kinds of instances happen when someone                 
  who is a victim of domestic violence decides to report.                      
                                                                               
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  Sections  9,  10, 11,  and  12  amend the  bail  statutes to                 
  require that the safety  of the victim be considered  by the                 
  court when it makes decisions concerning bail and conditions                 
  of release  for the  defendant pending  trial, sentence  and                 
  appeal.                                                                      
                                                                               
  Section 13  limits the  cases where  the court  can order  a                 
  victim to undergo a psychiatric or psychological examination                 
  to cases where  (1) the victim's psychiatric condition is an                 
  element of  the offense (for  example, in sexual  assault in                 
  the first degree under AS  11.41.410(a)(3), the defendant is                 
  charged  with  sexual  penetration  with  a person  who  the                 
  defendant knows is mentally  incapable and who is under  the                 
  defendant's care);  or (2)   the state gives notice  that it                 
  will rely on  evidence that the  victim is suffering from  a                 
  continuing psychological  condition  (such  as  rape  trauma                 
  syndrome).    Representative   Porter  maintained  that  the                 
  defense has in some instances improperly requested the court                 
  to have a victim undergo a psychological examination.                        
                                                                               
  Section 15 provides that  applications for compensation  and                 
  personal identification information are confidential records                 
  in proceedings before the Violent Crimes Compensation Board.                 
  The records are  confidential after an application  has been                 
  accepted and compensation awarded.                                           
                                                                               
  Section  17  allows victims  who  are subpoenaed  to testify                 
  before  a grand jury,  who live more than  50 miles from the                 
  site of  the grand jury, or who  must customarily fly to the                 
  site of the  grand jury, to  testify telephonically.   Other                 
  witnesses  are  allowed  under  present  law to  testify  by                 
  telephone under these circumstances.                                         
                                                                               
  Section 18 amends Alaska Evidence Rule 404(b) to allow, in a                 
  prosecution  of  a  crime  involving  domestic  violence  or                 
  interfering with a report of  domestic violence, evidence to                 
  be introduced that the defendant  has committed other crimes                 
  involving domestic  violence or interfering  with the report                 
  of a  crime involving domestic violence against  the same or                 
  another victim.                                                              
                                                                               
  Section 20 repeals Alaska Delinquency  Rule 3(c) because the                 
  definition  of  "victim"  is no  longer  required  under the                 
  circumstances summarized in Section 17.                                      
                                                                               
  Sections 22 -  23 include  applicability and effective  date                 
  provisions.                                                                  
                                                                               
  Co-Chair Hanley  noted that  fiscal notes  will  need to  be                 
  updated.                                                                     
  Representative  Davies  posed  questions for  Representative                 
                                                                               
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  Porter to consider  before the next  hearing.  He asked  how                 
  state and federal  constitutional law will be  balanced.  He                 
  noted that he would pursue questions regarding section 18.                   
                                                                               
  Representative Davis  asked if section 8 was included as the                 
  result of specific cases.   Representative Porter noted that                 
  victims have been precluded from  reporting because they did                 
  not have phone privileges.                                                   
                                                                               
  ANNE CARPENETI,  ASSISTANT ATTORNEY  GENERAL, DEPARTMENT  OF                 
  LAW  discussed  psychiatric examination  of  a victim.   She                 
  referred to a recent  Fairbanks case.  She explained  that a                 
  victim was sequestered  by the  defendant and badly  beaten.                 
  The victim's injuries  required steel plates to  replace her                 
  cheek bones  and plastic implants  to rebuild her  eye lids.                 
  Her mouth was wired shut for 10 days.  She was kept for four                 
  days  and  raped at  least three  times.   In  addition, she                 
  suffered a concussion which caused her to forget some of the                 
  things  that  happened  during  the  assault.   The  defense                 
  requested, and the court granted,  an eight hour psychiatric                 
  exam.    She noted  that  the  court based  its  decision on                 
  Pickens v.  State; 675  P.2d 665  (Alaska App.  1984).   The                 
  Administration feels that the court exceeded  its authority.