H. B. 3181
(By Delegates Amores and Fleischauer)
[Introduced February 22, 2007; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-11A-6 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to fair treatment of crime victims
generally and including a person who has resided with a victim
at least twelve months to the list of people to receive
advance notice of judicial proceedings involving the crime.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-11A-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11A. VICTIM PROTECTION ACT OF 1984.
§61-11A-6. State guidelines for fair treatment of crime victims
and witnesses in the criminal justice system.
(a) No later than the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-four, the Attorney General shall promulgate rules
and regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing guidelines for
law-enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys' offices
consistent with the purposes of this article. The Attorney General shall seek the advice of the Department of Public Safety West
Virginia State Police and Department of Human Services in preparing
such rules. and regulations In preparing such rules, and
regulations the following objectives shall be considered:
(1) The arresting law-enforcement agency should ensure that
victims routinely receive emergency social and medical services as
soon as possible and are given information on the following.
(A) Availability of crime victim compensation (where
applicable);
(B) Community-based victim treatment programs;
(C) The role of the victim in the criminal justice process,
including what they can expect from the system as well as what the
system expects from them; and
(D) Stages in the criminal justice process of significance to
a crime victim, and the manner in which information about such
stages can be obtained.
(2) The prosecuting attorney or his assistant should ensure
that victims and witnesses receive information on steps that
law-enforcement officers and prosecuting attorneys can take to
protect victims and witnesses from intimidation.
(3) All victims and witnesses who have been scheduled to
attend criminal justice proceedings should be notified by the
prosecuting attorneys' offices as soon as possible of any
scheduling changes which will affect their appearances.
(4) Victims, witnesses, and one member of the immediate
family, which shall include a person who has resided with the victim for at least twelve months preceding the crime, of those
victims and witnesses should, if such persons provide the
appropriate official with a current address and telephone number,
receive prompt advance notification, if possible, of judicial
proceedings relating to their case, from the prosecuting attorney's
office, including:
(A) The arrest of an accused:
(B) The initial appearance of an accused before a judicial
officer;
(C) The release of the accused pending judicial proceedings;
and
(D) Proceedings in the prosecution of the accused (including
the entry of a plea of guilty, trial, sentencing, and, where a term
of imprisonment is imposed, the release of the accused from such
imprisonment).
(5) The victim of a serious crime, or in the case of a minor
child or a homicide, the family of the victim, shall be consulted
by the prosecuting attorney in order to obtain the views of the
victim or family about the disposition of any criminal case brought
as a result of such crime, including the views of the victim or
family about:
(A) Dismissal;
(B) Release of the accused pending judicial proceedings;
(C) Plea negotiations; and
(D) Pretrial diversion program.
(6) Victims and other prosecution witnesses should, if practical, be provided prior to court appearance, a waiting area
that is separate from all other witnesses.
(7) Law-enforcement agencies should promptly return victim's
property held for evidentiary purposes unless there is a compelling
law-enforcement reason for retaining it.
(8) A victim or witness who so requests should be assisted by
law-enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys in informing
employers that the need for victim and witness cooperation in the
prosecution of the case may necessitate absence of that victim or
witness from work. A victim or witness who, as a direct result of
a crime or of cooperation with law-enforcement agencies or
attorneys for the government, is subjected to serious financial
strain, should be assisted by the appropriate state agencies in
dealing with creditors.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating a
cause of action against the State of West Virginia or any of its
political subdivisions.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the state
guidelines for fair treatment of crime victims and witnesses in
criminal proceedings by including a person who has resided with a
victim at least twelve months to the list of people to receive
advance notice of judicial proceedings involving the crime.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.