Bills · 2017-2018 Regular Session
Relating to: crime victim impact statements.
Court — Procedure Crime victim Criminal identification and investigation District attorney Privacy Property tax
- Introduced, stopped here
- Passes Assembly, not reached
- Passes Senate, not reached
- Governor signs, not reached
- Law, not reached
Unfamiliar terms? Glossary
What this bill does
Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, a crime victim may offer a statement regarding the impact
of the crime on his or her life, which may be considered at sentencing, disposition,
or parole hearings.
This bill names such a statement a “victim impact statement.” Under the bill,
a victim impact statement is confidential, and unless the statement contains
exculpatory information, the statement is not considered a witness statement that
must be disclosed by the prosecuting attorney to the court and to the defendant at
trial. The bill allows a victim to amend or retract a victim impact statement he or
she has provided up until the time at which it is disclosed. Under the bill, a victim
impact statement may not be disclosed until after a plea has been entered or a
conviction has been obtained in a criminal case, at which time the statement must
be disclosed to the court, the prosecuting attorney, and the defendant or the
defendant's attorney, and the judge must enter a protective order barring
redisclosure of the statement. The bill requires that a disclosed statement be kept
confidential and returned to the court at the conclusion of representation.