02/19/1993 01:00 PM House JUD

  TAPE 93-16, SIDE A                                                           
  Number 000                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER called the House Judiciary Committee meeting                 
  to order at 1:22 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 1993.  A                       
  quorum was present.                                                          
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER announced that the meeting was being                         
  teleconferenced.  He stated that HB 64, Anti-Stalking Law                    
  and HB 78, Testimony of Minors in Criminal Trials, were on                   
  the calendar.  He called Rena Bukovich of Rep. Eileen                        
  MacLean's office to come forward and address the committee                   
  regarding HB 78.                                                             
                                                                               
  HB 78 - TESTIMONY OF MINORS IN CRIMINAL TRIALS                               
                                                                               
  Number 033                                                                   
                                                                               
  RENA BUKOVICH, AIDE TO REP. EILEEN MACLEAN, prime sponsor of                 
  HB 78, read Rep. MacLean's testimony into the record.  She                   
  said that the purpose of HB 78 was to protect children under                 
  the age of 16 from appearing as witnesses in criminal                        
  proceedings.  She said that under current law, a court could                 
  require that the testimony of a child victim or witness be                   
  taken via closed-circuit television or through one-way                       
  mirrors if it was determined that requiring a child to                       
  testify under normal procedures would cause the inability of                 
  the child to testify.  She noted that current law allowed                    
  these special procedures to be used only for children under                  
  the age of 13; HB 78 would allow the court to extend these                   
  procedures to cover children under the age of 16.                            
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said that the confrontation clause in the                       
  constitution required a defendant to meet her or his                         
  accuser, except in special cases.  She added that the U.S.                   
  Supreme Court had upheld limits to the right of                              
  confrontation, as long as the decision to use special                        
  procedures rested with the court.  She stated that other                     
  states used a range of ages, from 10 to 16, at which special                 
  court procedures could no longer be used.                                    
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH noted that HB 78 contained a retroactivity                      
  clause in which crimes committed before the bill's passage,                  
  but not yet prosecuted, would be subject to the new law.                     
                                                                               
  Number 085                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. GREEN asked if the only change made by HB 78 was                        
  raising the age by three years.                                              
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said that was correct.                                          
                                                                               
  Number 096                                                                   
                                                                               
  MARGOT KNUTH, of the DEPARTMENT OF LAW, told the committee                   
  that there were few circumstances where the special court                    
  procedures were used.  However, she noted, in these few                      
  circumstances, the use of the special procedures was very                    
  important.  She said HB 78 would increase the Department of                  
  Law's flexibility.                                                           
                                                                               
  MS. KNUTH commented that questions regarding a defendant's                   
  right to confront her or his accuser versus the availability                 
  of a witness to testify had been addressed by the U.S.                       
  Supreme Court.  She stated that the use of special                           
  procedures for children under the age of 13 had already been                 
  approved by the Alaska Court of Appeals and expressed an                     
  opinion that changing the age to 16 would not result in any                  
  problems.                                                                    
                                                                               
  Number 139                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. GREEN mentioned that legislation reducing the age at                    
  which a juvenile could be tried for an adult crime had been                  
  introduced.  He expressed a concern that the provisions of                   
  HB 78 could contradict the provisions of the other                           
  legislation.  He asked if many children would benefit from                   
  HB 78.                                                                       
                                                                               
  Number 169                                                                   
                                                                               
  MS. KNUTH replied that the special procedures were most                      
  often used with children who were victims of sexual abuse.                   
  She said that it was conceivable to her that children aged                   
  14, 15 or 16 who had been sexually abused might be unable to                 
  testify in the presence of a defendant.                                      
                                                                               
  Number 195                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. PHILLIPS reiterated Rep. Green's question about a                       
  possible conflict between lowering the age at which a                        
  juvenile could be tried for an adult crime and the                           
  provisions of HB 78.                                                         
                                                                               
  Number 205                                                                   
                                                                               
  MS. KNUTH said that she saw no such conflict.  She said that                 
  the law treated victims and perpetrators differently, and                    
  that there was no single "age of majority" in our society.                   
                                                                               
  Number 235                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER noted that HB 78 did not cover those people                  
  charged with crimes, but just witnesses and victims.                         
                                                                               
  Number 242                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. GREEN moved that the committee pass out HB 78 with a                    
  zero fiscal note and with individual recommendations.                        
  Hearing no objections to the motion, CHAIRMAN PORTER ordered                 
  that HB 78 be moved out of the Judiciary Committee.                          
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER noted that HB 64 was the next item of                        
  business before the committee and called Rep. Cynthia                        
  Toohey, the bill's sponsor, to address the committee.