AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO VARIOUS STATUTES CONCERNING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO VARIOUS STATUTES CONCERNING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

1. appears to lower the maximum possible penalty for violations of first-degree sexual assault against a victim under age 10;

2. allows a court to suspend the mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree sexual assault if at the time of the offense, the offender was under age 18 or his or her mental capacity was significantly impaired;

3. exempts from the law on witness sequestration certain adult witnesses in child assault, sexual assault, or abuse cases;

4. modifies the penalty for jurors who fail to respond to a jury summons;

5. provides that juvenile prosecutors employed by the Division of Criminal Justice on July 1, 2009, are within available appropriations, considered appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission with the powers and duties of assistant state's attorneys;

6. requires the court, instead of the prosecutor, to provide a transcript of certain sentencing hearings to the Board of Pardons and Paroles;

7. limits access to state and local police reports and witness statements by the Division of Public Defender Services unless authorized by a prosecutorial official;

8. expands the circumstances under which a person on probation is guilty of failure to appear;

9. expands the crime of forgery to punish someone who falsely makes, completes, or alters a written instrument by signing his or her own name to it to falsely and fraudulently represent that he or she has authority to sign the document; and

10. makes confidential youthful offender records available to law enforcement and prosecutorial officials conducting legitimate criminal investigations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2009 except the provisions concerning juvenile prosecutors and provisions of sentencing transcripts, which are effective July 1, 2009, and the provision limitary law enforcement access to certain information held by the Division of Public Defender Services, which is effective on passage.

The bill provides that, within available appropriations, juvenile prosecutors employed by the Division of Criminal Justice on July 1, 2009 (1) are deemed to have been appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission and, (2) have and exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of an assistant state's attorney. It also provides that such prosecutors may act in any judicial district and in connection with any matter regardless of the judicial district where the offense took place, and may be assigned to act in any judicial district at any time on designation by the chief state's attorney. The bill makes numerous conforming changes.

The bill also provides that beginning July 1, 2009, any “prosecutorial official” assigned to handle juvenile matters in the criminal session of the Superior Court will have been appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission.

Apparently the term “prosecutorial official” refers to the chief state's attorney, each deputy chief state's attorney, and each state's attorney, assistant state's attorney, and deputy assistant state's attorney (CGS §§ 51-278a & 51-287a).

By law, prosecutors must request transcripts of certain sentencing hearings for delivery to the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The bill requires the prosecutor's request to be on the record and makes the court, instead of the prosecutor, responsible for delivering the transcript to the board. The affected sentencing hearings are those at which a defendant is sentenced to a definite, non-suspended sentence of more than two years' imprisonment.

Current law gives state and local criminal justice agencies access to all state and local police reports, presentence investigations and reports, psychological and medical reports, criminal records, incarceration and parole records, and court records and transcripts in the statewide criminal justice information technology system whether such records and documents normally exist in electronic or hard copy forms. The bill prohibits access to state and local police reports and witness statements by the Division of Public Defender Services unless authorized by a prosecutorial official.

The bill expands the circumstances under which a person on probation for a felony conviction or a misdemeanor or motor vehicle violation is guilty of failure to appear. Under current law, the person is guilty if he or she misses a legally called probation violation hearing. Under the bill, the person is guilty if he or she is misses any legally called court hearing related to a probation violation.

Failure to appear at a hearing on a felony violation is a class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $ 5,000 fine or both. Failure to appear for a hearing on a misdemeanor or motor vehicle violation is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $ 2,000, or both.

The bill separates first-degree sexual assault involving sexual intercourse with a minor under age 13 by a person two years older into two distinct crimes, one covering minor victims between ages 10 and 13 and the other covering minor victims under age 10.

The new crime of sexual intercourse with a person under age 10 is a class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, up to a $ 15,000 fine, or both. Ten years of the prison sentence cannot be reduced or suspended. The new crime of sexual intercourse with a person between ages 10 and 13 is a class A felony, punishable by 10 to 25 years in prison, up to a $ 20,000 fine or both. Under current law unchanged by the bill, if the victim is under age 10, the penalty carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. However, since the victim of this crime cannot be under age 10, it appears that the bill effectively reduces the classification and maximum allowable sentence for first-degree sexual assault involving sexual intercourse with a victim under age 10 by a person more than two years older.

The bill allows the court to suspend the mandatory minimum sentence if, at the time of the offense, the offender was under age 18 or his or her mental capacity was significantly impaired.

By law, if the state or defense asks, the court must sequester a witness during portions of a trial when the witness is not testifying. The bill exempts from this requirement criminal cases involving the assault, sexual assault, or abuse of a child age 12 or younger if the witness is an adult (1) the child knows, (2) with whom the child feels comfortable, and (3) who has the court's permission to sit near the child as he or she testifies.

The bill subjects jurors who fail to appear for jury duty to a civil penalty in an amount that the Superior Court judges must establish. Under current law, the jurors are guilty of an infraction. The bill requires the attorney general, within available appropriations, to enforce the provision.

The bill expands the crime of forgery to punish someone who falsely makes, completes, or alters a written instrument by signing his or her own name to it to falsely and fraudulently represent that he or she has authority to sign the document.

By law, a person commits forgery by (1) falsely making, completing, or altering a written instrument with intent to defraud, deceive, or injure someone or (2) possessing a forged written instrument. The penalty ranges from a class B misdemeanor to a class C felony depending on the type of document being forged.

The bill makes confidential youthful offender records available to law enforcement and prosecutorial officials conducting legitimate criminal investigations. By law, records of youthful offenders are confidential unless they involve certain crimes. Current law allows disclosure of confidential records:

1. between agencies and individuals directly providing services to the youth, including law enforcement, state and federal prosecutors, school and court officials, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Court Support Services Division, and a crime victim advocate;

2. to the youth and the youth's parents or guardian until the youth reaches age 18 or is emancipated;

3. to the youth's attorney if they are relevant to a proceeding; and

4. to Board of Pardons and Paroles and correction employees who need them to perform their duties when (a) the offender is adjudged a youthful offender and sentenced to prison or convicted of a crime on the regular superior court docket and (b) the records are relevant to a risk and needs assessment during incarceration or determining suitability for release or a pardon or supervision and treatment needs on parole or other release.

Under existing law, juvenile prosecutors are appointed by the state's attorney for the judicial district where the prosecutor serves. But most other prosecutors are appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission, a constitutionally created Executive Branch agency. Juvenile prosecutors can only handle cases on the juvenile docket; assistant state's attorneys can handle cases on both the juvenile and adult dockets.

On April 29, 2009 the House referred the bill (File 769) to the Appropriations Committee, which voted out a substitute on May 5, 2009. The substitute requires several actions to be carried out but within available appropriations and gives the attorney general enforcement authority over jurors who fail to appear.