BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair SB 1248 (Alquist) - Civil procedure: contempt. Amended: May 1, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: May 14, 2012 Consultant: Jolie Onodera This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 1248 would require a minor who is an alleged victim of a sex crime to meet with a victim advocate, as defined, where the minor is under 16 years of age and facing contempt of court for refusing to testify, unless the court finds that it is not in the best interest of the victim. This bill would authorize the court to impose sanctions, as specified, on any parent or guardian who the court finds is inappropriately interfering with court processes by encouraging a minor to refuse to testify. Fiscal Impact: Potential costs in the range of $100,000 (General Fund) per year to the Judicial Branch for increased evidentiary hearings. This amount could be offset in part by fine revenues from sanctions to the extent they are levied. Background: This bill seeks to protect child victims of sex crimes from being coerced into not testifying against their abusers. It is noted that, "While many children, as crime victims, want and need to participate as testifying witnesses, participating in the process causes many of them significant fear and anxiety. Researchers attribute the cause of child witnesses' anxieties to a number of factors, including their fear of not being believed and their fear of answering questions in front of the person who hurt them. Facing the accused is consistently children's top concern. If the abuser is the parent, even the Supreme Court has surmised that the child's feelings of vulnerability, guilt, and unwillingness to come forward would be particularly acute." (Sacrificing the Child to Convict the Defendant: Secondary Traumatization of Child Witnesses by Prosecutors, Their Inherent Conflict of Interest, and the Need for Child Witness Counsel, Tanya Asim Cooper, Spring 2011). SB 1248 (Alquist) Page 1 Existing law generally provides victims of sexual assault the right to have victim advocates and a support person of the victim's choosing present at any interview by law enforcement authorities, district attorneys, or defense attorneys. Existing law defines "victim advocate" to mean a sexual assault counselor, as defined in section 1035.2 of the Evidence Code, or a victim advocate working in a center established under Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 6 of Part 4. The centers cross-referenced in this section are public or private non-profit entities providing assistance to victims and witnesses. Proposed Law: This bill would require a minor who is a victim of a sex crime to meet with a victim advocate, as defined in Penal Code section 679.04, where the minor is under 16 years of age and facing contempt of court for refusing to testify, unless the court, for good cause, finds that it is not in the best interest of the victim. This bill provides that if the court finds that a parent or guardian is inappropriately interfering with court processes by encouraging a minor under 16 years of age to refuse to testify, the parent or guardian may be sanctioned by counseling, a fine, or jail time. The bill specifies that nothing shall preclude prosecution under any other applicable provision of law. Staff Comments: The Judicial Council estimates that for cases in which an evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine whether a parent or guardian inappropriately interfered with a court process be encouraging a minor not to testify would result in increased costs of approximately $2,160 per hearing in order to determine specific findings are required before sanctions can be levied, the hearing is estimated to increase the court's review time by three to four hours. It is unknown how many cases the court will find that a parent or guardian is inappropriately interfering with court processes. Based on the number of offenders convicted of sex crimes against children in California of approximately 13,000 in 2001, and adjusting for the reduced trend in child sexual abuse cases based on National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), it is estimated there could be approximately 45 cases (less than one per county) per year statewide that could require an evidentiary hearing. Estimated costs based on the assumptions SB 1248 (Alquist) Page 2 above would result in court costs of approximately $100,000 General Fund per year. To the extent the court levies sanctions in the form a fine, a portion of costs would be offset by the amount collected.