HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1794

As Reported by House Committee On:

Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness

Title: An act relating to adding court-related employees to the assault in the third degree statute.

Brief Description: Adding court-related employees to the assault in the third degree statute.

Sponsors: Representatives Ladenburg, Klippert and Kelley; by request of Board For Judicial Administration.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness: 2/15/11, 2/16/11 [DP].

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 10 members: Representatives Hurst, Chair; Ladenburg, Vice Chair; Pearson, Ranking Minority Member; Klippert, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Armstrong, Goodman, Hope, Kirby, Moscoso and Ross.

Staff: Yvonne Walker (786-7841).

Background:

Generally, a person can commit Assault if he or she: (a) attempts, with unlawful force, to inflict bodily injury upon another; (b) unlawfully touches another person with criminal intent; or (c) puts another person in apprehension of harm.

The crime is divided into four degrees depending on the manner in which it was committed or the amount of harm caused to the victim. For example, an assault that would normally be considered Assault in the fourth degree (a gross misdemeanor offense) may be elevated to Assault in the third degree (a seriousness level III, class C felony offense) if the assault was committed against a certain class of persons. For example, an assault against a firefighter performing his or her official duties at the time of the assault is automatically Assault in the third degree. Similar provisions exist for transit operators, school bus drivers, law enforcement officers, and health care providers.

An offender convicted of Assault in the third degree would receive a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum fine of $10,000, or both imprisonment and a fine for the class C felony offense. Assault in the fourth degree is a gross misdemeanor offense punishable by a sentence of up to one year in jail or a maximum fine of $5,000, or both imprisonment and a fine.

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Summary of Bill:

An assault that would normally be Assault in the fourth degree may be elevated to Assault in the third degree. This occurs if the assault was committed against a judicial officer, court-related employee, county clerk, or county clerk's employee, who was performing his or her official duties at the time of the assault or as a result of that person's employment with the judicial system.

A "court-related employee" includes bailiffs, court reporters, judicial assistants, court managers, court managers' employees, and any other employee, regardless of title, who is engaged in equivalent functions.

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Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) There are some concerns by court officials in regards to security and threat incidents to employees of the courts. There are several groups of people already covered by this law such as transit operators, nurses, and firefighters. The goal is to cover judicial officers and court personnel under this statute.

Court employees would like the same level of protection as others. Currently, if you kick a police dog it is a class C felony. If you threaten a judge it is a class B felony. But if you kick a judge or court official it is a gross misdemeanor offense.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Ladenburg, prime sponsor; and Steve Warning, Superior Court Judges' Association.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.