Review of New Legislation Relating to Criminal Law
| Publication year | 1982 |
| Pages | 2148 |
1982, August, Pg. 2148. Review of New Legislation Relating to Criminal Law
The Fifty-fourth General Assembly was faced with the hard realities of over-crowded county jails throughout the state and a prison system that is refusing to take prisoners except by reservations.(fn1) Perhaps as a result of this, the rush toward higher sentences showed somewhat during this session. New restrictions on bail, a tough new drunk driving law and a scattering of mandatory sentencing bills are the most prominent additions to the criminal law this year.
A brief description of bills which might be of interest to CBA members follows. These descriptions are intended only to alert the reader to the general nature of the changes and are not intended to be complete summaries of the new laws.
This bill apparently permits a judge to deny appeal bond in any case for any reason. Before this amendment, appeal bond could not be denied unless the judge found that (a) there was a significant probability that the defendant would commit another crime pending appeal or (b) no bond conditions could sufficiently assure the defendant's appearance during or after the appeal.(fn2)
A constitutional amendment will be submitted to the voters this November which would deny pretrial bail to a defendant when "the proof is evident and the presumption is great as to the crime alleged," and the defendant's release would place the public "in significant peril," when the pending charges are as follows:
(a) A crime of violence(fn3) alleged to have been committed after two previous felony convictions or one previous conviction of a crime of violence.
The bail hearing must be held "within ninety-six hours of arrest and upon reasonable notice."(fn4) If bail is denied, trial must be held within ninety days. However, if trial is not held within this period the charges are not dismissed nor is the defendant released Rather, the court is required to "immediately schedule a bail hearing and shall set the amount of the bail for the person."(b) A crime of violence alleged to have been committed while on bail for a crime of violence for which probable cause has been found.
This bill provides that a person convicted of a sexual offense against children for a second or subsequent time is a habitual offender, who must receive a felony sentence of at least the upper limit of the presumptive range or, in misdemeanor cases, the maximum jail sentence.
This bill lengthens the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children and makes any felonious sexual assault against children a "crime of violence" if the defendant caused bodily injury or used force, threats or intimidation against the victim.
All penalties relating to marijuana are combined into one section by this bill. It also reduces the penalty for possession of more than one ounce but less than eight ounces from a class 5 felony to a class 1 misdemeanor for the first conviction, and from a class 4 felony to a class 5 felony for second and subsequent convictions. It reduces the penalty for cultivating, dispensing and selling marijuana from a class 3 felony to a class 4 felony for the first conviction and from a class 2 felony to a class 3 felony for later convictions.
This bill attempts to define second degree contraband in order to guide administrators of detention facilities in determining what should be prohibited in response to People v Lepik.(fn5) It also allows possession of contraband under certain...
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