FINAL BILL REPORT

                  SSB 6188

                          C 156 L 96

                      Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Establishing a conditional privilege for communications between victims of sexual assaults and their personal representatives.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Law & Justice (originally sponsored by Senators Sheldon, Prentice, Wojahn, Thibaudeau, Fairley, Kohl, Rinehart, Spanel, Snyder, Winsley and Rasmussen).

Senate Committee on Law & Justice

House Committee on Law & Justice

Background:  Privileged communications are those statements made by certain persons within a protected relationship such as attorney-client, doctor-patient, priest-penitent, which the law protects from forced disclosure at the option of the person making the confidential communication.

A personal representative is a friend, relative, attorney, or employee from a rape crisis center who accompanies a victim during treatment and to proceedings relating to the alleged assault, including police and prosecution interviews and court proceedings.  Communication between a personal representative and a victim of sexual assault is not privileged.

Summary:  Communication between a victim of sexual assault and his or her sexual assault advocate is privileged.  Therefore, a sexual assault advocate may not be examined to provide testimony for or against the victim without the victim's consent.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate    46 0

House     94 0

Effective:  June 6, 1996