CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

 

                        HOUSE BILL 1589

 

 

                   Chapter 343, Laws of 1997

 

 

 

 

                        55th Legislature

                      1997 Regular Session

 

 

PRESENCE OF CRIME VICTIM ADVOCATES AT JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

 

 

 

                    EFFECTIVE DATE:  7/27/97

Passed by the House April 19, 1997

  Yeas 92   Nays 0

 

 

 

             CLYDE BALLARD

Speaker of the

      House of Representatives

 

Passed by the Senate April 10, 1997

  Yeas 46   Nays 0

             CERTIFICATE

 

I, Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 1589  as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

 

 

 

               BRAD OWEN

President of the Senate

          TIMOTHY A. MARTIN

                          Chief Clerk

 

 

Approved May 13, 1997 Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.   

                                FILED          

 

 

             May 13, 1997 - 2:28 p.m.

 

 

 

              GARY LOCKE

Governor of the State of Washington

                   Secretary of State

                  State of Washington


          _______________________________________________

 

                          HOUSE BILL 1589

          _______________________________________________

 

             Passed Legislature - 1997 Regular Session

 

                                

                     AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

                                

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Robertson, Costa, Radcliff, Cody, Scott, Cole, Skinner, Lantz, Constantine, Delvin, K. Schmidt, Murray, Hankins, Blalock, Hatfield, Wensman, O'Brien, Linville, Cooke, Ogden, Sheldon, Kessler and Kenney

 

Read first time 01/31/97.  Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

Allowing a crime victim to have an advocate present at any judicial proceeding.  


    AN ACT Relating to crime victim rights; and amending RCW 7.69.030.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

    Sec. 1.  RCW 7.69.030 and 1993 c 350 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

    There shall be a reasonable effort made to ensure that victims, survivors of victims, and witnesses of crimes have the following rights:

    (1) With respect to victims of violent or sex crimes, to receive, at the time of reporting the crime to law enforcement officials, a written statement of the rights of crime victims as provided in this chapter.  The written statement shall include the name, address, and telephone number of a county or local crime victim/witness program, if such a crime victim/witness program exists in the county;

    (2) To be informed by local law enforcement agencies or the prosecuting attorney of the final disposition of the case in which the victim, survivor, or witness is involved;

    (3) To be notified by the party who issued the subpoena that a court proceeding to which they have been subpoenaed will not occur as scheduled, in order to save the person an unnecessary trip to court;

    (4) To receive protection from harm and threats of harm arising out of cooperation with law enforcement and prosecution efforts, and to be provided with information as to the level of protection available;

    (5) To be informed of the procedure to be followed to apply for and receive any witness fees to which they are entitled;

    (6) To be provided, whenever practical, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require them to be in close proximity to defendants and families or friends of defendants;

    (7) To have any stolen or other personal property expeditiously returned by law enforcement agencies or the superior court when no longer needed as evidence.  When feasible, all such property, except weapons, currency, contraband, property subject to evidentiary analysis, and property of which ownership is disputed, shall be photographed and returned to the owner within ten days of being taken;

    (8) To be provided with appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that employers of victims, survivors of victims, and witnesses of crime will cooperate with the criminal justice process in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other benefits resulting from court appearance;

    (9) To access to immediate medical assistance and not to be detained for an unreasonable length of time by a law enforcement agency before having such assistance administered.  However, an employee of the law enforcement agency may, if necessary, accompany the person to a medical facility to question the person about the criminal incident if the questioning does not hinder the administration of medical assistance;

    (10) With respect to victims of violent and sex crimes, to have a crime victim advocate from a crime victim/witness program present at any prosecutorial or defense interviews with the victim, and at any judicial proceedings related to criminal acts committed against the victim.  This subsection applies if practical and if the presence of the crime victim advocate does not cause any unnecessary delay in the investigation or prosecution of the case.  The role of the crime victim advocate is to provide emotional support to the crime victim;

    (11) With respect to victims and survivors of victims, to be physically present in court during trial, or if subpoenaed to testify, to be scheduled as early as practical in the proceedings in order to be physically present during trial after testifying and not to be excluded solely because they have testified;

    (12) With respect to victims and survivors of victims, to be informed by the prosecuting attorney of the date, time, and place of the trial and of the sentencing hearing for felony convictions upon request by a victim or survivor;

    (13) To submit a victim impact statement or report to the court, with the assistance of the prosecuting attorney if requested, which shall be included in all presentence reports and permanently included in the files and records accompanying the offender committed to the custody of a state agency or institution;

    (14) With respect to victims and survivors of victims, to present a statement personally or by representation, at the sentencing hearing for felony convictions; and

    (15) With respect to victims and survivors of victims, to entry of an order of restitution by the court in all felony cases, even when the offender is sentenced to confinement, unless extraordinary circumstances exist which make restitution inappropriate in the court's judgment.


    Passed the House April 19, 1997.

    Passed the Senate April 10, 1997.

Approved by the Governor May 13, 1997.

    Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 13, 1997.