BILL REQ. #:  S-3332.1 

Read first time 01/12/2004.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to juvenile penalties for animal cruelty; amending RCW 13.40.110 and 13.40.127; reenacting and amending RCW 13.40.160; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 13.40.110 and 1997 c 338 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The prosecutor, respondent, or the court on its own motion may, before a hearing on the information on its merits, file a motion requesting the court to transfer the respondent for adult criminal prosecution and the matter shall be set for a hearing on the question of declining jurisdiction. Unless waived by the court, the parties, and their counsel, a decline hearing shall be held when:
     (a) The respondent is fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen years of age and the information alleges a class A felony or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a class A felony;
     (b) The respondent is seventeen years of age and the information alleges assault in the second degree, extortion in the first degree, indecent liberties, child molestation in the second degree, kidnapping in the second degree, or robbery in the second degree; ((or))
     (c) The information alleges an escape by the respondent and the respondent is serving a minimum juvenile sentence to age twenty-one; or
     (d) The information alleges animal cruelty in the first degree.
     (2) The court after a decline hearing may order the case transferred for adult criminal prosecution upon a finding that the declination would be in the best interest of the juvenile or the public. The court shall consider the relevant reports, facts, opinions, and arguments presented by the parties and their counsel.
     (3) When the respondent is transferred for criminal prosecution or retained for prosecution in juvenile court, the court shall set forth in writing its finding which shall be supported by relevant facts and opinions produced at the hearing.

Sec. 2   RCW 13.40.127 and 2001 c 175 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A juvenile is eligible for deferred disposition unless he or she:
     (a) Is charged with a sex or violent offense;
     (b) Is charged with animal cruelty in the first degree;
     (c) Has a criminal history which includes any felony;
     (((c))) (d) Has a prior deferred disposition or deferred adjudication; or
     (((d))) (e) Has two or more adjudications.
     (2) The juvenile court may, upon motion at least fourteen days before commencement of trial and, after consulting the juvenile's custodial parent or parents or guardian and with the consent of the juvenile, continue the case for disposition for a period not to exceed one year from the date the juvenile is found guilty. The court shall consider whether the offender and the community will benefit from a deferred disposition before deferring the disposition.
     (3) Any juvenile who agrees to a deferral of disposition shall:
     (a) Stipulate to the admissibility of the facts contained in the written police report;
     (b) Acknowledge that the report will be entered and used to support a finding of guilt and to impose a disposition if the juvenile fails to comply with terms of supervision; and
     (c) Waive the following rights to: (i) A speedy disposition; and (ii) call and confront witnesses.
     The adjudicatory hearing shall be limited to a reading of the court's record.
     (4) Following the stipulation, acknowledgment, waiver, and entry of a finding or plea of guilt, the court shall defer entry of an order of disposition of the juvenile.
     (5) Any juvenile granted a deferral of disposition under this section shall be placed under community supervision. The court may impose any conditions of supervision that it deems appropriate including posting a probation bond. Payment of restitution under RCW 13.40.190 shall be a condition of community supervision under this section.
     (6) A parent who signed for a probation bond has the right to notify the counselor if the juvenile fails to comply with the bond or conditions of supervision. The counselor shall notify the court and surety of any failure to comply. A surety shall notify the court of the juvenile's failure to comply with the probation bond. The state shall bear the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the juvenile has failed to comply with the terms of community supervision.
     (7) A juvenile's lack of compliance shall be determined by the judge upon written motion by the prosecutor or the juvenile's juvenile court community supervision counselor. If a juvenile fails to comply with terms of supervision, the court shall enter an order of disposition.
     (8) At any time following deferral of disposition the court may, following a hearing, continue the case for an additional one-year period for good cause.
     (9) At the conclusion of the period set forth in the order of deferral and upon a finding by the court of full compliance with conditions of supervision and payment of full restitution, the respondent's conviction shall be vacated and the court shall dismiss the case with prejudice.

Sec. 3   RCW 13.40.160 and 2003 c 378 s 3 and 2003 c 53 s 99 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) The standard range disposition for a juvenile adjudicated of an offense is determined according to RCW 13.40.0357.
     (a) When the court sentences an offender to a local sanction as provided in RCW 13.40.0357 option A, the court shall impose a determinate disposition within the standard ranges, except as provided in subsection (2), (3), (((4))) (5), (((5))) (6), or (((6))) (7) of this section. The disposition may be comprised of one or more local sanctions.
     (b) When the court sentences an offender to a standard range as provided in RCW 13.40.0357 option A that includes a term of confinement exceeding thirty days, commitment shall be to the department for the standard range of confinement, except as provided in subsection (2), (3), (((4))) (5), (((5))) (6), or (((6))) (7) of this section.
     (2) If the court concludes, and enters reasons for its conclusion, that disposition within the standard range would effectuate a manifest injustice the court shall impose a disposition outside the standard range, as indicated in option D of RCW 13.40.0357. The court's finding of manifest injustice shall be supported by clear and convincing evidence.
     A disposition outside the standard range shall be determinate and shall be comprised of confinement or community supervision, or a combination thereof. When a judge finds a manifest injustice and imposes a sentence of confinement exceeding thirty days, the court shall sentence the juvenile to a maximum term, and the provisions of RCW 13.40.030(2) shall be used to determine the range. A disposition outside the standard range is appealable under RCW 13.40.230 by the state or the respondent. A disposition within the standard range is not appealable under RCW 13.40.230.
     (3) When a juvenile offender is found to have committed a sex offense, other than a sex offense that is also a serious violent offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030, and has no history of a prior sex offense, the court, on its own motion or the motion of the state or the respondent, may order an examination to determine whether the respondent is amenable to treatment.
     The report of the examination shall include at a minimum the following: The respondent's version of the facts and the official version of the facts, the respondent's offense history, an assessment of problems in addition to alleged deviant behaviors, the respondent's social, educational, and employment situation, and other evaluation measures used. The report shall set forth the sources of the evaluator's information.
     The examiner shall assess and report regarding the respondent's amenability to treatment and relative risk to the community. A proposed treatment plan shall be provided and shall include, at a minimum:
     (a)(i) Frequency and type of contact between the offender and therapist;
     (ii) Specific issues to be addressed in the treatment and description of planned treatment modalities;
     (iii) Monitoring plans, including any requirements regarding living conditions, lifestyle requirements, and monitoring by family members, legal guardians, or others;
     (iv) Anticipated length of treatment; and
     (v) Recommended crime-related prohibitions.
     The court on its own motion may order, or on a motion by the state shall order, a second examination regarding the offender's amenability to treatment. The evaluator shall be selected by the party making the motion. The defendant shall pay the cost of any second examination ordered unless the court finds the defendant to be indigent in which case the state shall pay the cost.
     After receipt of reports of the examination, the court shall then consider whether the offender and the community will benefit from use of this special sex offender disposition alternative and consider the victim's opinion whether the offender should receive a treatment disposition under this section. If the court determines that this special sex offender disposition alternative is appropriate, then the court shall impose a determinate disposition within the standard range for the offense, or if the court concludes, and enters reasons for its conclusions, that such disposition would cause a manifest injustice, the court shall impose a disposition under option D, and the court may suspend the execution of the disposition and place the offender on community supervision for at least two years. As a condition of the suspended disposition, the court may impose the conditions of community supervision and other conditions, including up to thirty days of confinement and requirements that the offender do any one or more of the following:
     (b)(i) Devote time to a specific education, employment, or occupation;
     (ii) Undergo available outpatient sex offender treatment for up to two years, or inpatient sex offender treatment not to exceed the standard range of confinement for that offense. A community mental health center may not be used for such treatment unless it has an appropriate program designed for sex offender treatment. The respondent shall not change sex offender treatment providers or treatment conditions without first notifying the prosecutor, the probation counselor, and the court, and shall not change providers without court approval after a hearing if the prosecutor or probation counselor object to the change;
     (iii) Remain within prescribed geographical boundaries and notify the court or the probation counselor prior to any change in the offender's address, educational program, or employment;
     (iv) Report to the prosecutor and the probation counselor prior to any change in a sex offender treatment provider. This change shall have prior approval by the court;
     (v) Report as directed to the court and a probation counselor;
     (vi) Pay all court-ordered legal financial obligations, perform community restitution, or any combination thereof;
     (vii) Make restitution to the victim for the cost of any counseling reasonably related to the offense;
     (viii) Comply with the conditions of any court-ordered probation bond; or
     (ix) The court shall order that the offender may not attend the public or approved private elementary, middle, or high school attended by the victim or the victim's siblings. The parents or legal guardians of the offender are responsible for transportation or other costs associated with the offender's change of school that would otherwise be paid by the school district. The court shall send notice of the disposition and restriction on attending the same school as the victim or victim's siblings to the public or approved private school the juvenile will attend, if known, or if unknown, to the approved private schools and the public school district board of directors of the district in which the juvenile resides or intends to reside. This notice must be sent at the earliest possible date but not later than ten calendar days after entry of the disposition.
     The sex offender treatment provider shall submit quarterly reports on the respondent's progress in treatment to the court and the parties. The reports shall reference the treatment plan and include at a minimum the following: Dates of attendance, respondent's compliance with requirements, treatment activities, the respondent's relative progress in treatment, and any other material specified by the court at the time of the disposition.
     At the time of the disposition, the court may set treatment review hearings as the court considers appropriate.
     Except as provided in this subsection (3), after July 1, 1991, examinations and treatment ordered pursuant to this subsection shall only be conducted by sex offender treatment providers certified by the department of health pursuant to chapter 18.155 RCW. A sex offender therapist who examines or treats a juvenile sex offender pursuant to this subsection does not have to be certified by the department of health pursuant to chapter 18.155 RCW if the court finds that: (A) The offender has already moved to another state or plans to move to another state for reasons other than circumventing the certification requirements; (B) no certified providers are available for treatment within a reasonable geographical distance of the offender's home; and (C) the evaluation and treatment plan comply with this subsection (3) and the rules adopted by the department of health.
     If the offender violates any condition of the disposition or the court finds that the respondent is failing to make satisfactory progress in treatment, the court may revoke the suspension and order execution of the disposition or the court may impose a penalty of up to thirty days' confinement for violating conditions of the disposition. The court may order both execution of the disposition and up to thirty days' confinement for the violation of the conditions of the disposition. The court shall give credit for any confinement time previously served if that confinement was for the offense for which the suspension is being revoked.
     For purposes of this section, "victim" means any person who has sustained emotional, psychological, physical, or financial injury to person or property as a direct result of the crime charged. "Victim" may also include a known parent or guardian of a victim who is a minor child unless the parent or guardian is the perpetrator of the offense.
     A disposition entered under this subsection (3) is not appealable under RCW 13.40.230.
     (4)(a) When a juvenile offender is found to have committed animal cruelty in the first degree, the court, on its own motion or the motion of the state or the respondent, may order an examination to determine whether it is appropriate to require the respondent to attend treatment in a program to prevent animal cruelty. The examiner shall assess and report regarding the respondent's amenability to treatment and relative risk to the community and shall submit a proposed treatment plan if that is indicated.
     (b) A proposed treatment plan shall include, at a minimum:
     (i) Frequency and type of contact between the offender and therapist;
     (ii) Specific issues to be addressed in the treatment;
     (iii) Anticipated length of treatment; and
     (iv) Recommended crime-related prohibitions.
     (c) After receipt of report of the examination and treatment plan, the court shall then consider whether the offender and the community will benefit from the respondent's treatment and, if so, the court shall impose a determinate disposition that includes one year of community supervision during which the treatment shall be required.
     (5) If the juvenile offender is subject to a standard range disposition of local sanctions or 15 to 36 weeks of confinement and has not committed an A- or B+ offense, the court may impose the disposition alternative under RCW 13.40.165.
     (((5))) (6) If a juvenile is subject to a commitment of 15 to 65 weeks of confinement, the court may impose the disposition alternative under RCW 13.40.167.
     (((6))) (7) When the offender is subject to a standard range commitment of 15 to 36 weeks and is ineligible for a suspended disposition alternative, a manifest injustice disposition below the standard range, special sex offender disposition alternative, chemical dependency disposition alternative, or mental health disposition alternative, the court in a county with a pilot program under RCW 13.40.169 may impose the disposition alternative under RCW 13.40.169.
     (((7))) (8) RCW 13.40.193 shall govern the disposition of any juvenile adjudicated of possessing a firearm in violation of RCW 9.41.040(2)(a)(iii) or any crime in which a special finding is entered that the juvenile was armed with a firearm.
     (((8))) (9) Whenever a juvenile offender is entitled to credit for time spent in detention prior to a dispositional order, the dispositional order shall specifically state the number of days of credit for time served.
     (((9))) (10) Except as provided under subsection (3), (((4))) (5), (((5))) (6), or (((6))) (7) of this section, or option B of RCW 13.40.0357, or RCW 13.40.127, the court shall not suspend or defer the imposition or the execution of the disposition.
     (((10))) (11) In no case shall the term of confinement imposed by the court at disposition exceed that to which an adult could be subjected for the same offense.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act takes effect July 1, 2004.