HOUSE BILL REPORT

SSB 5088

As Amended by the House

BYSenate Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Senators Owen, Warnke, Nelson, Barr and Moore)

Including court conferred visitation rights under protection of custodial interference statute.

House Committe on Judiciary

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (13)

      Signed by Representatives Armstrong, Chair; Crane, Vice Chair; Appelwick, Brough, Hargrove, Heavey, P. King, Lewis, Moyer, Padden, Schmidt, Scott and Wang.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (2)

      Signed by Representatives Locke and Patrick.

House Staff:Harry Reinert (786-7110)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 16, 1987

BACKGROUND:

A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the second degree if he or she is a relative and takes, entices, retains, detains or conceals a person with the intent to deny access to the person by a parent, guardian, institution, agency or other person who has a lawful right to physical custody.  The first conviction of custodial interference in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor.  A second or subsequent conviction is a class C felony.

It is a defense to a prosecution for custodial interference if the relative proves by a preponderance of the evidence that his or her purpose was to protect the person from imminent physical harm and that the belief was reasonable.

SUMMARY:

In addition to current protection for persons who have a right of physical custody, a relative who interferes with a parent's, guardian's, institution's, agency's, or other person's court conferred visitation rights with another person by intentionally denying access to the person has committed the crime of custodial interference in the second degree.  Access to the person must be prevented for at least two hours.

It is a defense to prosecution for custodial interference if the defendant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she reasonably believed that the child, incompetent person or himself or herself were in imminent physical danger, and that he or she sought the assistance of the police, sheriff's office or protective state agencies prior to or within three hours of performing the acts which gave rise to the charges.  The defendant must also prove that he or she did not change addresses or leave the jurisdiction where the acts occurred and reported his or her name, address and phone number to the police or sheriff's department with the name and address of the child or incompetent person.

Fiscal Note:      Requested April 4, 1987

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Senator Brad Owen; Lucille Christenson, Department of Social and Health Services; Allen Tadlock and Joseph Karl, Husbands Against Discriminatory Divorce; Gene Laughlin; William Henkel.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    Denial of visitation rights by one parent to a divorce is frequently used to put pressure on the other parent.  There is not effective means for a parent who has been refused visitation rights granted by a court to have those rights enforced.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.