New Compromise Bill Helps Solve Child Sexual Abuse Problems

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1 National District Attorneys Association Newsclips April 5, 2010 Today s Clip Headlines Gov. Brown Signs Bill To Transfer Thousands Of Nonviolent Felons To County Jails Compromise Bill On Sex Abuse Lawsuits Still Hits Opposition Montana Senate Endorses Monitoring Of Repeat DUI Offenders NC Budget Cuts May Slice Public Safety Programs Bill Would Affect First-Time DUI Offenders Budget Knife Is Aimed At Prison System In N.Y. Oregon House Passes Bill Cracking Down On Johns Who Buy Sex From Minors, First Of Several Sex Trafficking Bills Jurors Gone Wild Report Details Prosecutorial Misconduct, Pushes For Transparency IMPD Delays Gun Turn-In Questioned By Prosecutor Clip Synopses and Links The Los Angeles Times Gov. Brown Signs Bill To Transfer Thousands Of Nonviolent Felons To County Jails The measure is designed to reduce the number of inmates in California s chronically overcrowded state lockups and keep relatively low-level offenders closer to their homes. Tens of thousands of felons convicted of nonviolent crimes would serve their time in county jails instead of state prisons under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday evening. The measure is designed to reduce the number of inmates in California s chronically overcrowded state lockups and keep relatively low-level offenders closer to their homes, where drug treatment and mental health services are believed to be more effective. Supporters hope to save taxpayers money by lowering the number of offenders who return to prison and by housing many parole violators in less expensive county jails. CT Mirror Compromise Bill On Sex Abuse Lawsuits Still Hits Opposition

2 A new compromise bill to remove time limits on the filing of lawsuits by victims of child sexual abuse drew renewed opposition Monday from longtime opponents of previous efforts, the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference and the insurance industry. The compromise attempted to address objections to previous proposals by making the change effective only for future actions rather than retroactive. But opponents said the current statute of limitations victims of childhood abuse have 30 years from the time they turn 18 to file is adequate. That s long enough. That s one of the longest times in the country, said Michael C. Culhane, executive director of the Catholic Conference, an organization representing the state s Catholic bishops. It s already very generous. Statute of limitations ensures that information is available and evidence does become stale, the Insurance Association of Connecticut said in written testimony on the bill. How is a defendant to defend against a claim, potentially 60 years after an event happened? The statute of limitations question is of immediate importance to the Catholic Conference because of a high-profile case set to begin this week against St. Francis Hospital. That suit claims the hospital failed to appropriately handle sexual abuse allegations against Dr. George Reardon, former St. Francis endocrinologist suspected of abusing hundreds of children starting as early as the 1960s. More than 50 victims in that case are unable to file suit because too much time has passed. Unlike previous proposals, the new statute of limitations bill would not help those victims because it only applies to future cases. Billings Gazette Montana Senate Endorses Monitoring Of Repeat DUI Offenders Attorney General Steve Bullock s proposal to crack down on repeat drunk-driving offenders was endorsed Monday by the Montana Senate, paving the way for the measure to clear the Legislature. The chamber moved the plan ahead on a 40-9 vote, with just a few opponents arguing the measure goes too far by stringently treating every repeat DUI offender as an alcoholic. 2

3 Under the plan, repeat DUI offenders are required to take a breath test twice a day, every day at their own expense. Bullock says the program has proven successful in a pilot project in keeping repeat offenders sober. Supporters said Montana needs to take drinking and driving more seriously as part of an effort to make highways safer. The so called 24/7 program is the highest profile of a number of DUI reform proposals working through the Legislature after several highprofile deaths put more focus on the issue. Lawmakers from both sides entered the session with the intent of getting tough on drunk driving. b cc4c002e0.html The News & Observer (Raleigh) NC Budget Cuts May Slice Public Safety Programs Republican legislators are considering deep budget cuts that could include the elimination of the State Capitol Police and the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement, as well as closing prisons and drug treatment centers. A House committee that will help decide specific cuts is expected to meet later this week. A draft list of 71 proposed trims seeks to slash about $230 million from the state s justice and public safety programs, potentially eliminating more than 1,600 government jobs. The list, developed by legislative staffers, also calls for reducing funds for the N.C. National Guard and eliminating paid staff for the Civil Air Patrol, as well as laying off prison chaplains and ending a program that puts inmates to work picking up litter and painting playgrounds Las Vegas Review-Journal Bill Would Affect First-Time DUI Offenders The Senate approved a bill Monday that would lower the blood-alcohol level for firsttime DUI offenders who are eligible to seek treatment over jail time or another courtimposed sentence. Senate Bill 91 was approved on a unanimous vote. 3

4 National Public Radio Budget Knife Is Aimed At Prison System In N.Y. In New York state, prison towns and state corrections officers are bracing for another big cut as Gov. Andrew Cuomo takes aim at what he has described as a bloated prison system. The Oregonian (Portland) Oregon House Passes Bill Cracking Down On Johns Who Buy Sex From Minors, First Of Several Sex Trafficking Bills The Oregon House unanimously passed the first of several so-called sex trafficking bills this morning, aimed at punishing men who seek to buy sex from minors. House bill 2714, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie, sets high fines for men who purchase sex from children. The first offense will land the john a $10,000 fine, with the fine rising to $20,000 for the second offense. The law tacks 30 days in jail on top of the fine for subsequent arrests. The bill also eliminates ignorance of the girl s age as a defense. ns_who_buy_sex_from_minors_the_first_of_sev.html California Lawyer Jurors Gone Wild An epidemic of juror blogging, texting, and tweeting infuriates judges and defense counsel and fuels motions for retrial. Reuters Legal has reported that jurors Internet research, blog comments, and tweets have called into question at least 90 verdicts since Using data supplied by Westlaw, it found that judges had granted new trials or overturned verdicts in 28 such criminal and civil cases, 21 in the past two years. 4

5 As part of its investigation, Reuters monitored postings on Twitter for a three-week period, typing jury duty into the site s search engine. Many of the tweets turned up were from people expressing snap decisions on a defendant s guilt or innocence. Jury duty is a blow, one tweet read. I ve already made up my mind. He s guilty. Another tweet from a prospective juror read, Guilty! He s guilty! I can tell! Los Angeles Times Report Details Prosecutorial Misconduct, Pushes For Transparency The Northern California Innocence Project finds 102 California cases, and 31 from Los Angeles County, in which prosecutors engaged in misconduct. The group, based at the Santa Clara University School of Law, is advocating more transparency in how misconduct is addressed. California courts last year found that Los Angeles County prosecutors withheld evidence, intentionally misled jurors or committed other types of misconduct in 31 criminal cases, according to an Innocence Project report released last week. The decisions involved convictions dating back as far as 1984 and were among 102 California cases in which the group found that courts identified prosecutorial misconduct. In 26 of the cases nine in Los Angeles County the courts cited the misconduct in decisions to order a new trial, set aside a sentence or bar evidence, according to the Northern California Innocence Project, which is based at the Santa Clara University School of Law. Los Angeles County accounts for about a quarter of the state s felony criminal filings and one-third of felony trials ,0, story Indianapolis Star IMPD Delays Gun Turn-In Questioned By Prosecutor Curry opposes destroying weapons that may have been used in crime The postponement comes days after Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry called Indianapolis Public Safety Director Frank Straub to express concerns about the event. 5

6 Curry said his office didn t like that the police could be collecting and destroying guns that might have been used in crimes. newswell text IndyStar.com s Upcoming Courses To see a full list of our upcoming courses, their dates, summaries and registration forms, please visit Member Benefits New NDAA membership benefits available: Need Case Assistance? NDAA can help. Send a message to NDAA s prosecutor assistance address and we will get your request to one of our program specialists or out to prosecutors around the country. jhemphill@ndaa.org 6