05/14/2021 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

                    SB 122-VICTIM DEFINITION                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:41:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
SENATE  BILL NO.  122,  "An  Act relating  to  the definition  of                                                               
'victim.'"                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN  stated that Legislative  Legal &  Research services                                                               
has permission  to make  any technical  or conforming  changes to                                                               
the bill.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:42:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SNYDER moved  Amendment 1,  labeled 32-LS0422\B.1                                                               
Dunmire 5/13/21, which read as follows:                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 10:                                                                                                           
     Delete "adult"                                                                                                             
     Insert "[ADULT]"                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN objected.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:42:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   SNYDER  stated   that  the   proposed  amendment                                                               
pertained to page  2, on line 1 and, without  the adoption of the                                                               
proposed amendment, the term "adult"  in the bill could allow for                                                               
an instance  where a parent is  a victim and is  not deceased but                                                               
becomes incapacitated and  a minor child would not  be allowed to                                                               
engage the process in the same  way in an instance where a parent                                                               
would become deceased.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:44:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LORA  REINBOLD, Alaska  State Legislature,  answered that                                                               
the proposed  amendment appeared to  be a sensible one  and would                                                               
create consistency between  the language appearing on  page 2, on                                                               
line 1.  She suggested that  the original bill may have contained                                                               
a drafting  error but that the  intention had been that  an adult                                                               
child would  be eligible for  victims' benefits.  She  noted that                                                               
"adult child"  was included  intentionally and  was based  on the                                                               
scenario that she had described in previous testimony.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN asked  Senator Reinbold to confirm that  she did not                                                               
support the proposed amendment, which  she confirmed that she did                                                               
not.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:47:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA suggested that on page  2, on lines 1 and 2,                                                               
there  exist  other  potential  victims  that  could  be  further                                                               
defined.   He referred  to the  underlying statute  and suggested                                                               
that family  members of victims  are also  victims.  He  asked he                                                               
rationale for not including both  adult and minor children in the                                                               
definition.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:49:47 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ANDREW   DUNMIRE,  Legislative   Counsel,  Legislative   Legal  &                                                               
Research Services,  answered that the determination  to adopt the                                                               
amendment would be one of  legislative policy.  He explained that                                                               
should the amendment be adopted,  and a scenario existed in which                                                               
the  victim of  the crime  was  incapacitated but  still able  to                                                               
testify,  it could  be interpreted  that a  minor child  would be                                                               
able to testify instead of the victim.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KURKA asked  whether the  definition of  a victim                                                               
was an individual who may wish to engage in litigation.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. DUNMIRE  answered that the  statute was a  procedural statute                                                               
used in criminal litigation and  pertains to who shall be allowed                                                               
to testify  at a bail  hearing or  a sentencing hearing  and does                                                               
not apply  to civil  litigation.  He  further explained  that, in                                                               
the  case that  an offender  escapes custody,  the Department  of                                                               
Corrections has a  statutory obligation to notify  the victims of                                                               
the  crime and  the  definition contained  in  the statute  would                                                               
determine who should be notified.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:51:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked  that, in the case  that the proposed                                                               
law was interpreted  that a minor child would be  able to testify                                                               
instead of  the victim, would  the proposed amendment  prohibit a                                                               
minor from being allowed to  testify on an incapacitated victim's                                                               
behalf.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DUNMIRE  answered   that  is  a  policy   decision  and  not                                                               
necessarily problematic in the way that had been described.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:53:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN asked  the  Department  of Law  to  answer how  the                                                               
Department of  Law or  Department of  Corrections would  meet its                                                               
victim notification of  escape or parole in  current practice and                                                               
what would change if the amendment was adopted.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:54:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KACI  SCHROEDER,  Assistant  Attorney  General,  Central  Office,                                                               
Criminal Division,  Department of Law, answered  that the current                                                               
practice of notification is as  inclusive as possible on the part                                                               
of the Department of Law.   She stated that the statute would not                                                               
prohibit notification but  that a guardian may be  required to be                                                               
involved in  the notification.   She predicted  no change  to the                                                               
practice of notification should Amendment 1 be adopted.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:55:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KURKA expressed  his confusion  that there  exist                                                               
two  different lists  regarding who  can  speak on  behalf of  an                                                               
incapacitated victim and asked why the two lists should differ.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN added  that legal  theory  is that  minors are  not                                                               
legally  considered  competent to  speak  on  his/her own  behalf                                                               
despite his/her  actual ability to do  so.  He asked  Mr. Dunmire                                                               
whether  the definition  in subsection  (b) was  because of  that                                                               
theory.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DUNMIRE   shared  that  his  experience   during  practicing                                                               
criminal law for  over 10 years had involved  many minor children                                                               
offering testimony.  He suggested  that judges would have concern                                                               
that a child would  be capable of telling a truth  from a lie and                                                               
that minor  children are  often deemed  capable of  testifying in                                                               
court.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:58:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA  offered to  clarify his question  to extend                                                               
to  subsection  (b) and  (c)  in  which there  exist  individuals                                                               
qualified to speak on behalf of  the direct victim of a crime and                                                               
who had become  incapacitated and unable to speak  on his/her own                                                               
behalf, and asked why it was  proposed that there be two separate                                                               
lists for  one victim who  was unable  to testify due  to his/her                                                               
death and another  in the case that he/she was  unable to testify                                                               
due to incapacitation.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER  suggested that the amendment  be revisited                                                               
to ensure the intent to  include equal representation for victims                                                               
who are unable to testify.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR REINBOLD stated  that discussions had taken  place in the                                                               
other  body   and  the  conceptual  intention   of  the  proposed                                                               
amendment had been discussed and  it had been decided to maintain                                                               
the narrow  focus of the  change to  existing statute due  to the                                                               
case  of a  deceased  parent's two  teenage  daughters not  being                                                               
allowed to testify on behalf of their mother.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN asked the invited  representative from the Office of                                                               
Victims' Rights  to opine on  whether to delete the  word "adult"                                                               
as proposed in Amendment 1.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
5:02:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SHAUN SEHL, Victims Advocate Attorney,  Alaska Office of Victims'                                                               
Rights, answered that  her office had not  experienced the courts                                                               
misinterpreting subsection 19(b) and it  would permit a parent of                                                               
a live child who is  not incapacitated or incompetent to advocate                                                               
for his/her  minor child.   She  provided an  example in  which a                                                               
victim may be  a minor and have experienced sexual  assault and a                                                               
parent could advocate for his/her child.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
5:04:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 5:04 to 5:11 p.m.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
5:11:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA  asked the  what reasons  exist to  have two                                                               
lists of associations to the victim  of a crime to be eligible to                                                               
advocate for the victim.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. SEHL  answered that there  exist situations in which  a minor                                                               
may not  wish or are not  able to testify on  his/her own behalf,                                                               
and in  the case that  they are still  living, there should  be a                                                               
provision to allow for an adult to advocate on his/her behalf.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA  stated that subsection (b)  did not pertain                                                               
only to minor victims, and he  asked whether the lists in (b) and                                                               
(c) could be combined.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS.  SEHL  answered  that  it  would be  her  preference  to  see                                                               
proposed  language  to  fully  examine upon  which  to  offer  an                                                               
opinion.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
5:16:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS  asked  whether  there  exist  any                                                               
known concerns or  pitfalls that could be  examined pertaining to                                                               
the effect of adopting Amendment 1.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN  suggested  that an  alternative  to  the  proposed                                                               
amendment  could  be  considered  and offered  to  the  committee                                                               
timely.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER withdrew Amendment 1.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that SB 122 would be held over.