BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    







            SENATE COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
                    Senator Milton Marks, Chair           S
                       1995-96 Regular Session            B

                                                          2
                                                          1
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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                                              SB 2161 (Leslie)
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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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