BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Senator Milton Marks, Chair S
1995-96 Regular Session B
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SB 2161 (Leslie) 6
As amended August 28, 1996 1
Hearing date: August 31, 1996
Welfare & Institutions Code
LK:ll
SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATORS
HISTORY
Source: Governor
Prior Legislation: AB 3130 (1996) -- In Assembly. for
concurrence
AB 1496 (1996) -- Chaptered
SB 1143 (1995) -- Chaptered
AB 888 (1995) -- Chaptered
Support: Unknown
Opposition: California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 62 - Noes 0
NOTE: THIS BILL IS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE PURSUANT TO SENATE
RULE 29.10 BECAUSE THE ASSEMBLY AMENDMENTS CREATED A NEW
BILL. THE COMMITTEE BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THE MEMBERSHIP MAY
EITHER (1) HOLD THE BILL, OR (2) RETURN THE BILL TO THE
SENATE FLOOR - WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO CONCUR OR NOT CONCUR
- FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE ASSEMBLY AMENDMENTS.
THIS ANALYSIS REFLECTS ONLY THE AMENDMENTS TO THIS BILL TAKEN
IN THE ASSEMBLY.
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SB 2161 (Leslie)
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KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE DEFINITION OF "SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR" BE
EXPANDED TO INCLUDE SPECIFIED NONVIOLENT SEXUAL OFFENSES ON A
VICTIM UNDER THE AGE OF 14?
PURPOSE
Existing law, enacted last year, provides for the civil
commitment of sexually violent predators. (AB 888, Rogan,
Chapter 763; SB 1143, Mountjoy, Chapter 762.) A sexually
violent predator is defined as a person who has been
convicted of a specified sexually violent offense against two
or more victims for which he or she received a determinate
prison sentence and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that
makes the person a danger to the health and safety of others.
A sexually violent offense includes specified sexual acts
committed by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of
immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another
person. (Penal Code Section 6600.)
When the Director of Corrections determines that an
individual who is in custody under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Corrections, and who is either serving a
determinate prison sentence or whose parole has been revoked,
may be a sexually violent predator, the director is required,
at least six months prior to the individual's scheduled
release date, to refer the person to the Department of Mental
Health (DMH) for evaluation. (Penal Code Section 6601.)
Existing law provides for a hearing procedure to determine
whether there is probable cause to believe that a person who
is the subject of a petition for civil commitment as a
sexually violent predator is likely to engage in sexually
violent predatory criminal behavior upon his or her release
from prison. (Penal Code Section 6602.)
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Existing law provides for a jury trial, with a determination
beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is a sexually
violent predator. Upon such a finding, the person will be
held for two years or until the Director of Mental Health
finds that the person's mental abnormality is so changed that
he or she is not likely to commit a sexual violent offense.
The committed person has the right to a review after one
year. This process may be repeated every two years without
limit. (Penal Code Section 6603 et. seq.)
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Assembly Bill 3130 (Boland) would expand the definition of a
"sexually violent predator" to include persons who have a
prior finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, who were
convicted under indeterminate sentencing law, or who have an
out-of-state conviction, for one of the specified offenses,
or who were designated as Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders
under that program. That bill is currently in the Assembly
for concurrence in Senate amendments.
This bill would additionally expand the definition of a
"sexually violent predator" to include any offense listed in
the existing definition, whether or not violent, when the
victim is a child under the age of 14 and the act or acts
involve substantial sexual conduct.
The purpose of this bill is to include specified nonviolent
sexual offenses against children in the list of offenses
actionable under the sexually violent predator civil
commitment statutes.
COMMENTS
1. Purpose of the Bill.
This bill is the result of a case in Contra Costa County in
which a judge determined that the sexually violent predator
statute did not apply to a three-time convicted child
molester who committed nonviolent offenses. The statute
specifically applies to violent offenses.
2. Substantial Sexual Conduct.
"Substantial sexual conduct" is defined in the bill as:
[P]enetration of the vagina or rectum of either the
victim or the offender by the penis of the other or by
any foreign object, oral copulation, or masturbation
of either the victim or the offender.
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This definition is taken from existing Penal Code Section
1203.066.
3. Expansion of Civil Commitment Law to Nonviolent Felonies.
In opposition to this bill, California Attorneys for Criminal
Justice is concerned that the civil commitment procedure for
sexually violent predators was carefully crafted to be as
narrow as possible and to apply only to the most violent
predators. It notes that there was agreement between the
various parties that the statute would only apply to violent
offenses.
SHOULD THE CIVIL COMMITMENT PROCESS FOR SEXUALLY VIOLENT
PREDATORS BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE NONVIOLENT OFFENSES?
IF SO, SHOULD THE STATUTE REFER TO "SEXUAL PREDATORS" RATHER
THAN TO "SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATORS"?
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