AB 460

Under current law, a preliminary hearing is a hearing before a court to

determine if probable cause exists to believe the defendant has committed a felony.

If the defendant is accused of certain crimes such as first-degree sexual assault,

sexual assault of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, or incest with a child, the court

may exclude from the hearing all persons who are not court officers, family members

of the complainant or the defendant, or other persons required to attend if the court

finds that the state or the defendant has established a compelling interest that would

likely be prejudiced if the persons were not excluded. A compelling interest could be

the need to protect the complainant from undue embarrassment and emotional

trauma.

This bill adds sexual exploitation by a therapist to the list of felonies for which

the preliminary hearing may be closed.