AB 1982, as amended, Ting. Stalking.
Under existing law, any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family, is guilty of the crime of stalking, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison. Existing law provides that a person who violates these provisions after having been convicted of certain other crimes is subject to additional punishment, as specified.
This bill would instead provide that a person is guilty of the crime of stalking when that person willfully engages in a course of conductbegin insert,
as defined,end insert directed at a specific person or group of persons and knows or should have known that the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her immediate familybegin delete, or to suffer substantial emotional distress, as defined. The bill would include additional crimes for which a person is subject to additional punishment if that person violates these provisions after having been convicted of those crimes. The bill would also require a person who violates these provisions by engaging in a course of conduct directed at a person who was a minor at the time during the course of that conduct to be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 5 yearsend delete.begin insert For those purposes, the bill would include in the definition of “immediate family” a domesticated pet.end insert
By changing the definition of a crime,begin delete thisend deletebegin insert theend insert bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Under existing law, evidence of a person’s character or a trait of his or her character is inadmissible when offered to prove his or her conduct on a particular occasion, except as specified. Existing law provides, however, that when a defendant is accused of an offense involving domestic violence in a criminal action, evidence of the defendant’s commission of other domestic violence may be admitted to prove the defendant’s conduct, except when the court exercises its discretion to exclude the evidence of prior acts, as specified.
This bill would provide that when a defendant is accused of an offense involving stalking in a criminal action, evidence of the defendant’s prior acts of stalking may be admitted to prove the defendant’s conduct, except as specified.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1109 of the Evidence Code is amended
2to read:
(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in
4a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense
5involving domestic violence, evidence of the defendant’s
6commission of other domestic violence is not made inadmissible
7by Section 1101 if the evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to
8Section 352.
9(2) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in a criminal
10action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving
11abuse of an elder or dependent person, evidence of the defendant’s
12commission of other abuse of an elder or dependent person is not
P3 1made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is not
2inadmissible
pursuant to Section 352.
3(3) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f) and subject to
4a hearing conducted pursuant to Section 352, which shall include
5consideration of any corroboration and remoteness in time, in a
6criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense
7involving child abuse, evidence of the defendant’s commission of
8child abuse is not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the
9evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352. This
10paragraph does not prohibit or limit the admission of evidence
11pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1101.
12(4) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in a criminal
13action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving
14stalking, evidence of the defendant’s commission of other acts of
15stalking is
not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence
16is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352.
17(b) In an action in which evidence is to be offered under this
18section, the people shall disclose the evidence to the defendant,
19including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance
20of any testimony that is expected to be offered, in compliance with
21the provisions of Section 1054.7 of the Penal Code.
22(c) This section shall not limit or preclude the admission or
23consideration of evidence under any other statute or case law.
24(d) As used in this section:
25(1) “Abuse of an elder or dependent person” means physical or
26sexual abuse, neglect, financial abuse,
abandonment, isolation,
27abduction, or other treatment that results in physical harm, pain,
28or mental suffering, the deprivation of care by a caregiver, or other
29deprivation by a custodian or provider of goods or services that
30are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering.
31(2) “Child abuse” means an act proscribed by Section 273d of
32the Penal Code.
33(3) “Domestic violence” has the meaning set forth in Section
3413700 of the Penal Code. Subject to a hearing conducted pursuant
35to Section 352, which shall include consideration of any
36corroboration and remoteness in time, “domestic violence” has
37the further meaning as set forth in Section 6211 of the Family Code
38if the act occurred no more than five years before the charged
39offense.
P4 1(4) “Stalking” has the meaning set forth in Section 646.9 of the
2Penal Code.
3(e) Evidence of acts occurring more than 10 years before the
4charged offense is inadmissible under this section, unless the court
5determines that the admission of this evidence is in the interest of
6justice.
7(f) Evidence of the findings and determinations of administrative
8agencies regulating the conduct of health facilities licensed under
9Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code is inadmissible under
10this section.
Section 646.9 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
(a) A person who willfully, engages in a course of
13conduct directed at a specific person or group of persons and knows
14or should have known that the course of conduct would cause a
15reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of his
16or her immediate familybegin delete, or to suffer substantial emotional distressend delete
17 is guilty of the crime of stalking, punishable by imprisonment in
18a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more
19than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and
20imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
21(b) A
person who violates subdivision (a) when there is a
22temporary restraining order, injunction, or any other court order
23in effect prohibiting the behavior described in subdivision (a)
24against the same party, shall be punished by imprisonment in the
25state prison for two, three, or four years.
26(c) A person who violates subdivision (a) by engaging in a
27course of conduct directed at a person who was a minor at any
28time during the course of conduct shall be punished by
29imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years.
30(d)
end delete
31begin insert(c)end insert (1) A person who, after having been convicted of abegin delete
crimeend delete
32begin insert felonyend insert under Sectionbegin delete 166,end delete 273.5, 273.6,begin insert orend insert 422,begin delete or 653m,end delete commits
33a violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment
34in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more
35than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and
36imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two,
37three, or five years.
38(2) A person who, after having been convicted of a felony under
39subdivision (a), commits a violation of this section shall be
P5 1punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or
2five years.
3(e)
end delete
4begin insert(d)end insert In addition to the penalties provided in this section, the
5sentencing court may order a person convicted of a felony under
6this section to register as a sex offender pursuant to Section
7290.006.
8(f)
end delete
9begin insert(e)end insert For the
purposes of this section, “course of conduct” means
10two or more acts occurring over a period of time, however short,
11evidencing a continuity of purpose. The conduct may include, but
12is not limited to, acts committed directly, indirectly, electronically,
13or through third parties. The conduct may also include, but is not
14limited to, acts committed by any gesture, method, orbegin delete device, orend delete
15begin insert device; end insert following, monitoring, observing,begin insert
orend insert
physically or
16electronically surveilling, threatening,begin insert orend insert interfering with a person’s
17begin delete property,end deletebegin insert property;end insert or identity theft of, false personation of, or
18communicating to or about, a person. Constitutionally protected
19activity is not included within the meaning of “course of conduct.”
20(g) For purposes of this section, “substantial emotional distress”
21means a greater level of distress than everyday mental distress or
22being upset, but does not require that the victim seek psychological
23or medical treatment.
24(h)
end delete
25begin insert(f)end insert This section shall not apply to conduct that occurs during
26labor picketing.
27(i)
end delete
28begin insert(g)end insert If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a
29sentence is suspended, for a person convicted under this section,
30it shall be a condition of probation that the person participate in
31counseling, as designated by the court. However, the court, upon
32a showing of good cause, may find that the counseling requirement
33shall not be imposed.
34(j)
end delete
35begin insert(h)end insert (1) The sentencing court also shall consider issuing an order
36restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim, that
37may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. It is
38the intent of the Legislature that the length of any restraining order
39be based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the
P6 1probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim and
2his or her immediate family.
3(2) This protective order may be issued by the court whether
4the defendant is sentenced to state prison, county jail, or if
5imposition of sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed
6on probation.
7(k)
end delete
8begin insert(i)end insert For purposes of this section, “immediate family” means a
9spouse, parent, child, domesticated pet, a person related by
10consanguinity or affinity within the second degree, or any other
11person who regularly resides in the household, or who, within the
12prior six months, regularly resided in the household.
13(l)
end delete
14begin insert(j)end insert The court shall consider whether the defendant would benefit
15from treatment pursuant to Section 2684. If it is determined to be
16appropriate,
the court shall recommend that the Department of
17Corrections and Rehabilitation make a certification as provided in
18Section 2684. Upon the certification, the defendant shall be
19evaluated and transferred to the appropriate hospital for treatment
20pursuant to Section 2684.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
22Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
23the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
24district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
25infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
26for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
27the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
28the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
29Constitution.
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