05/05/2023 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

        HB 11-CRIME: ASSAULT IN THE PRESENCE OF A CHILD                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:06:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE announced  that the final order of  business would be                                                               
SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE  FOR HOUSE BILL  NO. 11, "An  Act establishing                                                               
the crime of assault in the presence of a child."                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE opened invited testimony.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:07:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL SHAFFER, Office of  Victims' Rights, Legislative Agencies                                                               
and Offices,  gave invited testimony  during the hearing  on SSHB
.   He highlighted the  importance of the  proposed legislation                                                               
because of  the impact that  witnessing violence has  on children                                                               
under the  age of 16.   He reported that when  children witnesses                                                               
violence,   it   directly   affects  their   brain   development,                                                               
specifically the cerebral cortex.   Even children as young as six                                                               
months old  can be  affected by  violence occurring  around them.                                                               
In  addition   to  the  physical  impact,   he  acknowledged  the                                                               
emotional and  psychological effects  of observing violence.   He                                                               
discussed  the  importance   of  domestic  violence  intervention                                                               
programs for  people capable of committing  violent crimes around                                                               
children.  He opined that the  bill was long overdue, noting that                                                               
the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA)  had the crime "on the books"                                                               
for over  twenty years  and consequently, it  had been  tested in                                                               
terms of appellate  law.  He acknowledged that  the bill wouldn't                                                               
add  much  in  the  way  of  resources  for  law  enforcement  or                                                               
prosecutors;  nonetheless,  it  would   help  to  better  protect                                                               
children across the state in  situations where violence was being                                                               
committed around them.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:13:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  inquired about the statistical  impact of                                                               
enacting the law in the MOA.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. SHAFFER shared his understanding  that a formal study had not                                                               
been conducted on family violence  prosecutions in Anchorage.  He                                                               
said the  bill may not  be a perfect solution;  nonetheless, it's                                                               
better than doing  nothing, he said, given the  crime's impact on                                                               
small children.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN  inferred  that  the  municipal  law  had                                                               
impacted the justice  system in the way of  more prosecutions and                                                               
convictions.  He requested data  or anecdotal evidence of changed                                                               
behavior or a diminishment of violence in front of children.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. SHAFFER  anecdotally reported  that the crime  made offenders                                                               
more mindful and conscious of the  impact that an assault has on,                                                               
not  only the  person that  it was  perpetrated against,  but the                                                               
children who  witnessed it.   He said  many of the  offenders who                                                               
completed programs ceased to reoffend.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   EASTMAN  asked   Mr.  Skidmore   to  share   his                                                               
perspective.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:18:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOHN  SKIDMORE,  Deputy   Attorney  General,  Criminal  Division,                                                               
Department of Law (DOL), reminded  the committee that Mr. Shaffer                                                               
worked through the MOA to prosecute  a crime that had been in the                                                               
municipal code  since 2000.  He  said he was unaware  of research                                                               
on the effect of the particular provision.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:18:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARPENTER  asked   whether  the  proposed  crime,                                                               
assault in  the presence of a  child, could be used  to prosecute                                                               
an assault  that occurred in  a high  school in front  of younger                                                               
children.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. SKIDMORE  answered yes, he  believed that,  theoretically, it                                                               
could allow for that prosecution.   He expounded on the impact of                                                               
adverse childhood  experiences (ACEs), adding that  the inclusion                                                               
of ACEs would be a policy call for the legislature.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  VANCE noted  that a  forthcoming  amendment would  exclude                                                               
juveniles from the bill.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:21:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARPENTER sought  to verify  that assault  in the                                                               
presence  of a  child  applied to  fourth  degree assault,  which                                                               
included the  verbal threat  or fear  of physical  injury without                                                               
physical contact.  He asked whether that was accurate.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR. SKIDMORE  said case law  indicated that when  placing someone                                                               
in fear, there  must be fear of imminent injury.   He shared, for                                                               
example, that  stating the  words "I'm going  to kick  your butt"                                                               
would  not qualify  as a  fear assault.   Alternatively,  getting                                                               
ready to  hit someone without  making contact would qualify  as a                                                               
fear assault.   He  confirmed that committing  a fear  assault in                                                               
the presence of a child would qualify [under the new statute].                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:24:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDY JOSEPHSON,  Alaska State  Legislature, prime                                                               
sponsor  of SSHB  11, asked  for  verification that  there was  a                                                               
"world of juvenile justice" that most Alaskans weren't aware of.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. SKIDMORE answered yes.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON  sought to  confirm that assault  in the                                                               
fourth degree applied to juveniles.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. SKIDMORE answered yes.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON  confirmed that he and  Chair Vance were                                                               
looking  for  a  way  to   exclude  juveniles  from  the  crime's                                                               
applicability.   He  asked whether  DOL  had a  preference as  to                                                               
whether the criminal  code for juveniles should  be separate from                                                               
that of adults.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SKIDMORE  said that  was  a  difficult question  to  answer,                                                               
indicating that the concept of  criminalizing certain conduct for                                                               
adults but not  for children involved analyses  of issues related                                                               
to equal protection.  He  pointed out that, unlike adult criminal                                                               
prosecutions, the  goal of juvenile  justice was to  consider the                                                               
best interest of the child.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON  asked whether  the committee  should be                                                               
concerned  about  a  raft  of  new  misdemeanor  charges  against                                                               
children or whether the charges would be disposed of.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. SKIDMORE answered no, he did  not believe that there would be                                                               
a raft of fourth degree assault charges filed against children.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:30:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  inquired about the  department's criteria                                                               
for making referral in a juvenile case.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.   SKIDMORE  explained   that  law   enforcement  investigated                                                               
juvenile cases  in the  same way as  any other  criminal conduct.                                                               
Law enforcement agencies then refer  the cases to the Division of                                                               
Juvenile Justice (DJJ)  for further evaluation.   He directed the                                                               
question to DJJ.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  inquired about the process  of charging a                                                               
juvenile as an adult.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. SKIDMORE  stated that  the process  was dictated  by statute.                                                               
He  reported that  when children  above the  age of  16 commit  a                                                               
serious offense, such as an  unclassified or class A felony, they                                                               
can be  automatically waivered [into  adult court].   He recalled                                                               
only two  instances in which juveniles  under the age of  16 were                                                               
waved into adult court.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:33:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  VANCE  opened   public  testimony  on  SSHB   11.    After                                                               
ascertaining that  no one  wished to  testify, she  closed public                                                               
testimony and announced that the bill would be held over.