ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
Purpose:
Makes substantive and clarifying changes to existing statutes related to various criminal justice issues.
Background:
An array of criminal justice issues are dealt with in this proposed legislation including classification of date rape drugs and related violations, sexual exploitation of minors and psychological evaluations in death penalty cases. Furthermore, changes regarding community supervision terms and the stalking statute are in response to recent Court of Appeals decisions. Several other issues address concerns of law enforcement, prosecutors and various court jurisdictions.
The fiscal impact of H.B. 2223 on the state general fund is unknown.
Law Enforcement Affidavits
1. Allows a prosecutor, if the prosecutor charges a criminal offense by complaint, to attach an affidavit of a law enforcement officer that swears to the accuracy of the complaint rather than requiring the officer to swear to the accuracy of the complaint before a magistrate.
2. Defines complaint.
3. Expands the definition of victim under statutes dealing with victim's rights for both adult and juvenile offenders to include immediate family if the person against whom a criminal offense has been committed is killed or incapacitated.
4. Adds sexually violent persons to the list of offenders for which a mental health facility must notify the victim if the offender is released or discharged or escapes.
5. Requires employers with at least 50 employees for at least 20 weeks per year to allow an employee who is a victim of a crime or juvenile offense to leave work to be present at the court proceedings. Prohibits the employer from dismissing the employee and stipulates that the employee shall not lose seniority while absent from work for attendance at the proceedings.
6. Stipulates that the employer is not required to compensate an employee who is a victim and leaves work to attend court proceedings, but allows an employee to use vacation time or sick leave and allows an employer to require the employee to use vacation time or sick leave.
7. Requires the employee, prior to leaving work, to provide the employer with a copy of the victim’s rights form provided by the law enforcement agency and, if applicable, a copy of the notice for each scheduled proceeding.
8. Prohibits an employer from refusing to hire, barring or discharging from employment or discriminating against an individual because the individual is a victim and leaves work to attend court proceedings.
9. Requires employers to keep confidential records regarding employee’s leave to attend court proceedings.
10. Allows an employer to limit an employee’s leave to attend court proceedings if the leave creates an undue hardship to the employer’s business.
11. Requires the prosecutor to inform the victim of the victim’s right to leave work to attend court proceedings. Allows a victim to notify the prosecutor if exercising the right to leave work would create an undue hardship on the victim’s employer and requires the prosecutor to convey this information to the court. Requires the court to take the victim’s schedule into consideration when scheduling a proceeding.
12. Defines undue hardship.
13. Requires the State to appoint a licensed psychologist in death penalty cases to conduct a prescreening evaluation to determine whether further examination is needed to determine the defendant’s competency to stand trial and whether the defendant was sane at the time of the offense. Allows the court to appoint separate experts to conduct each of the evaluations.
14. Stipulates that, if the prescreening evaluation indicates that further examination is necessary, the court shall treat the prescreening evaluation as a preliminary examination pursuant to the rules of criminal procedure.
15. Requires the court to seal a psychologist’s report and make the report available only to the defendant.
16. Stipulates that the report shall be released on the motion of any party if the defendant introduces the report or is convicted and the sentence is final.
17. Permits instruction in common and high schools on the nature and harmful effects of date rape drugs.
18. Expands the definition of regulated chemical to include gamma butyrolactone and variations of gamma butyrolactone, which are precursors to gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB).
19. Stipulates that a person convicted of administering flunitrazepam, GHB or ketamine hydrochloride to a minor without the minor's consent is subject to mandatory sentencing.
20. Defines minor in the sexual exploitation statute as a person or persons who were under 18 years of age at the time the visual depiction was created, adapted or modified.
21. Clarifies that only one minor engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct or is necessary to prove sexual exploitation of a minor.
22. Clarifies sentencing provisions for the crime of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
23. Prohibits the juvenile court from consolidating a delinquency proceeding with any other proceeding that does not involve delinquency, unless the delinquency proceeding is not heard at the same time or in the same hearing as the nondelinquency proceeding.
24. Requires that, when a court calculates a term of community supervision, the court shall decrease a sentence to the nearest month when the term involves a fraction of a month.
25. Removes the requirement that bond on appeal for misdemeanor cases shall not exceed the maximum fine that could be imposed, plus any applicable surcharges and assessments.
26. Eliminates the requirement that the court instruct juries, if a person raises an entrapment defense, that the person has admitted the elements of the offense and that the only issue for the jury’s consideration is whether the person has proven the entrapment defense.
27. Allows a person convicted only of homicide to petition the Board of Executive Clemency to review the sentence if the person suffered from battered persons syndrome, the person’s action was during the commission of an offense and there was a history of domestic violence against the person. Previously, a person could only petition for clemency if the person was convicted of homicide in conjunction with a preparatory offense.
28. Extends, from December 31, 2000 to October 31, 2001, the deadline by which the Department of Corrections must provide notice to inmates of the eligibility requirements for sentence review related to battered persons syndrome petitions .
29. Extends, from December 31, 2001 to December 31, 2002, the deadline by which the Board of Executive Clemency shall complete all battered persons syndrome petitions.
30. Clarifies that posting materials on an Internet site for any reason does not constitute sending or transmitting an item.
31. Applies the definition of “contraband” to juvenile secure care facilities, in addition to correctional facilities.
32. Clarifies that possession, use, administration, acquisition, sale, manufacture and transportation of prescription-only drugs is permissible as authorized by law.
33. Defines vending machine and adds vending machine to the definition of structure for the purposes of criminal code statutes related to criminal trespass and burglary.
34. Creates a clearer distinction between class 3 felony stalking and class 5 felony stalking.
35. Repeals a dually enacted section of law relating to domestic violence and blends many provisions.
36. Contains technical and conforming changes.
37. Provides for a general effective date.
1. Adds provisions related to psychological evaluations in death penalty cases, date rape drugs, sexual exploitation of minors, records of committed persons, victim's rights and courts among others.
1. Adds provisions dealing with clemency for battered persons and victim's right to leave, among others.
2. Eliminates provisions requiring the superior court to transmit involuntarily committed individuals' records to the Department of Public Safety.
3. Requires mandatory sentencing for administering flunitrazepam, GHB or ketamine hydrochloride to a minor only if the drug is administered without the minor's consent.
House Action: Senate Action
JUD 3/6/01 DPA 7-3-0 JUD 4/10/01 DPA 6-0-2
3rd Read 3/13/01 33-24-3 3rd Read 4/23/01 27-0-2-1
Prepared by Senate Staff
April 24, 2001