5360-S AMH JOHR H2512.1

SSB 5360 - H AMD 000412 WITHDRAWN 4-12-93

By Representatives R. Johnson and Ballasiotes

    On page 5, after line 37, insert the following:

    "Sec. 4.  RCW 9A.46.110 and 1992 c 186 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) A person commits the crime of stalking if, without lawful authority and under circumstances not amounting to a felony attempt of another crime:

    (a) He or she intentionally and repeatedly follows another person to that person's home, school, place of employment, business, or any other location, or follows the person while the person is in transit between locations; and

    (b) The person being followed is intimidated, harassed, or placed in fear that the stalker intends to injure the person or property of the person being followed or of another person.  The feeling of fear, intimidation, or harassment must be one that a reasonable person in the same situation would experience under all the circumstances; and

    (c) The stalker either:

    (i) Intends to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person being followed; or

    (ii) Knows or reasonably should know that the person being followed is afraid, intimidated, or harassed even if the stalker did not intend to place the person in fear or intimidate or harass the person.

    (2)(a) It is not a defense to the crime of stalking under subsection (1)(c)(i) of this section that the stalker was not given actual notice that the person being followed did not want the stalker to contact or follow the person; and

    (b) It is not a defense to the crime of stalking under subsection (1)(c)(ii) of this section that the stalker did not intend to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person being followed.

    (3) It shall be a defense to the crime of stalking that the defendant is a licensed private detective acting within the capacity of his or her license as provided by chapter 18.165 RCW.

    (4) Attempts to contact or follow the person after being given actual notice that the person does not want to be contacted or followed constitutes prima facie evidence that the stalker intends to intimidate or harass the person.

    (5) A person who stalks another person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor except that the person is guilty of a class C felony if any of the following applies:  (a) The stalker has previously been convicted in this state or any other state of any crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a no-contact order or no-harassment order; (b) the person ((violates)) stalks the victim after a court order which protects the victim from the person has been issued pursuant to RCW 9A.46.040 ((protecting the person being stalked)), 10.99.040, 10.99.045, or 10.99.050; (c) the person stalks the victim after a court order which protects the victim from the person has been issued pursuant to RCW 10.14.080, 26.09.060, 26.50.060, or 26.50.070 and the person knows of the order; or (((c))) (d) the stalker has previously been convicted of a gross misdemeanor or felony stalking offense under this section for stalking another person."

    Renumber the remaining sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

EFFECT:  A person convicted of stalking a victim is guilty of a class C felony instead of a gross misdemeanor if the person stalks the victim after a no-contact order or order of protection protecting the victim from the person has been issued under one of several chapters which prohibit crimes of domestic violence and harassment.

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