BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 838
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 838 (Beall)
As Amended August 18, 2014
2/3 vote
SENATE VOTE :35-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Skinner, Stone, Waldron | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Donnelly |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Reduces confidentiality protections and makes
ineligible for deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) juveniles who
have committed or who are alleged to have committed specified
sex crimes involving an unconscious or disabled victim, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds to the list of felonies, to which the public may be
admitted for the juvenile court proceedings, certain sex
offenses accomplished because the person is prevented from
resisting due to being rendered unconscious by any
intoxicating, anesthetizing, or controlled substance, or when
the victim is at the time incapable, because of a disability,
of giving consent, and this is known or reasonably should be
known to the person committing the offense.
2)Requires the court, in cases where a minor is adjudged or
continued as a ward of the court for the commission of certain
sex offenses, to order the minor to complete a sex offender
treatment program, if the court determines, in consultation
with the county probation officer, that suitable programs are
available.
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3)Provides, in determining what type of treatment is
appropriate, the court shall consider specified factors and
any other relevant information presented.
4)States if ordered by the court to complete a sex offender
treatment program, the minor shall pay all or a portion of the
reasonable costs of the sex offender treatment program after a
determination is made if the ability of the minor to pay.
5)Prohibits eligibility for DEJ minors charged with specified
sex offenses where the victim was prevented from resisting due
to being rendered unconscious by any intoxicating,
anesthetizing, or controlled substance, or when the victim was
at the time incapable, because of mental disorder or
developmental or physical disability, of giving consent, and
that was known or reasonably should have been known to the
minor at the time of the offense.
6)States that this bill shall be known, and may be cited as,
Audrie's Law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown, likely minor, potentially in excess of $1
million statewide, local costs to require juvenile sex offenders
to complete a sex offender treatment program, to the extent
suitable programs are available and offenders are unable to pay.
Unknown, likely minor state and local incarceration and
probation costs to the extent additional offenders are excluded
from deferred entry of judgment.
Unknown, likely minor state trial court administrative costs for
opening additional juvenile cases to the public.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Senate Bill 838 is the
direct result of the tragic death of Audrie Pott, a 15-year-old
Saratoga High student who committed suicide after she was
sexually assaulted while unconscious and photos of her were
disseminated electronically. Her assailants were tried as
juveniles. The allegations against them were sustained and they
handed down sentences of 30 to 45 days, news reports said.
Despite the severity of their crimes, they are freed from having
to register sex offenders due to an omission in the law.
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"Current California law provides a list of offenses for which
specified juvenile offenders may be prosecuted in adult court
under certain circumstances. This list - California Welfare and
Institutions Code [WIC] Section 707(b) - includes forced rape,
sodomy and oral copulation, but does not include sex offenses
where the victim was prevented from resisting because of
intoxication, use of a controlled substance, or because of a
developmental disability.
"It is unreasonable and arbitrary to solely define forcible rape
on whether a victim was able to offer resistance or whether they
were rendered incapable of resisting because of unconsciousness
or a developmental disability. Juvenile victims of sex crime
need to be protected equally, just the same as adult victims,
regardless of why they were vulnerable to a horrible assault.
Rape is rape.
"In general, juvenile court hearings are not open to the public.
However, W&I code section 676(a) specifies a list of offenses
that would cause juvenile court proceedings on the matter to be
open to the public. Much like [WIC] Section 707(b), [WIC
Section] 676(a) includes forcible rape, sodomy and oral
copulation. Again, this causes a loophole in the law that
differentiates between victims based upon whether or not they
were able to resist. This is an unequal standard that treats
the sexual assault of someone that is unconscious or
developmentally disabled as a lesser crime.
"Audrie's Law would remedy these issues by creating stiffer
penalties for juveniles who sexually assault a developmentally
disabled or unconscious victim. Specifically, SB 838 would
impose a mandatory two year out-of-home placement sentence and
open court proceedings to the public for any juvenile who was
convicted of said crime. This would eliminate the inequity in
the law that differentiates between forcible v. non-forcible
sexual assault, while keeping juveniles out of the adult court
system.
"Audrie's case, along with those of other young women across the
nation, has shed light on a troubling pattern of social media
being used to further traumatize victims of sexual assault.
Neither W&I code nor the Penal Code include an offense where the
victim of any sexual abuse or assault is further traumatized by
an offender through 'cyber-bullying.'
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"Photos of and messages about victims of these crimes have been
posted on the Internet or shared through cell phone photos to
intimidate, harass, humiliate, and bully victims. The use of
online photos, messaging, or other social media increases the
terrible power of the crime's cruelty. The nature of the crimes
against Audrie, coupled with the growing use of social media to
bully victims, demands that our statutes and codes be amended to
reflect the severity of these offenses.
"SB 838: Audrie's Law is a modest proposal that provides equal
justice for all types sexual offenses and updates our laws to
reflect the use of social media in conjunction with sexual
assault in the 21st century."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0004812