Daily Archives: May 9, 2005

CT seeks to decriminalize consensual sex between minors

As posted below, CT’s legislature is considering S. B. 892 [bill text]. Here is a brief analysis of that proposed bill:

SEXUAL ASSAULT

Statutory Rape

Under
current law, anyone who has sexual intercourse with a person who is
more than two years younger and at least age 13 but under age 16 is
guilty of second-degree sexual assault.

The
bill limits actors guilty of this crime to those more than three
calendar years, rather than two years, older than a youth who is at
least age 14 but under age 16. It requires the age difference between
actors and 13-year-olds to be measured in calendar years, rather than
simply years. Second-degree sexual assault against victims age 16 and
younger is a class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a
$
15,000 fine, or both. Nine months of the sentence cannot be suspended
or reduced.

Sexual Contact

Under
current law, anyone who has sexual contact with a person under age 15
is guilty of fourth-degree sexual assault, a class D felony punishable
by up to five years in prison, a $
5,000 fine, or both.

The
bill limits actors guilty of this crime to those more than two calendar
years older than a 13-year-old or more than three calendar years older
than a 14-year-old. The bill leaves unchanged the law making anyone,
regardless of age, guilty of this crime if he has sexual contact with a
person under age 13.

RISK OF INJURY TO MINORS

Under
current law, a person is guilty of risk of injury to a minor if he has
contact with the intimate parts of a person under age 16 or subjects
the youth to contact with the actor’s intimate parts in a sexual and
indecent manner likely to impair the youth’s health or morals.

The bill reduces the youth’s age from 16 to 13 years.

  It limits actors guilty of this crime when the youth is age 13 to those more than two calendar years older.

  When the youth is age 14 or 15, the bill limits actors guilty of this crime to those more than three calendar years older.

  Risk of injury to a minor is a class B felony.

  It does not, however, carry a mandatory minimum sentence.

Finally. Finally, there is some sense in the statutory rape laws. Finally we recognize that teens have sex. That they have sex with one another. That it is sometimes (maybe even often) consensual. Ofcourse, this bill doesn’t touch situations where one says it was consensual and the other says it wasn’t – but that shouldn’t be changed. Let’s see if this passes.

BREAKING NEWS – Supreme Court says Ross is competent

WTNH reports that

The state Supreme Court says Michael Ross is competent to   decide to waive his appeals and accept his death sentence.

The state’s highest court issued its written opinion tonight, clearing
a major obstacle on the road to Friday’s scheduled execution.

in it’s story about the petition filed by Michael Ross’ sister saying that his decision to waive his habeas proceedings is not voluntary.

I was unable to find a copy of the Supreme Court’s decision online – hopefully it will be available later tonight or early tomorrow.

Proposed crim law related legislation

My co-blogger at The Conn. Law Blog has done a fine job today posting legal news, so I won’t rehash any of it. Instead, I was surfing the Legislature’s website and came across some interesting legislation being proposed.

  • A while ago, I posted about a proposed law to equate the penalties for crack and cocaine. You can read that bill here.
    [This bill
    eliminates the disparity in the minimum amount of crack and powder
    cocaine that a person must possess to be guilty of selling or
    manufacturing, distributing, prescribing, compounding, transporting, or
    possessing cocaine with intent to sell. It accomplishes this by
    increasing the minimum amount of crack cocaine from one-half gram to
    one ounce    , the current minimum for powder cocaine.]
  • H. B. 6885 entitled "An Act concerning the administrative pardons process and the duties of the Board of Pardons and Paroles".
    [To revise the eligibility provisions for applicants for administrative pardons, delete the requirement that the chairperson adopt regulations for the administration of the Interstate Parole Compact and make a technical change concerning special parole.]
  • H.B. 6580 concerning making youthful offender records (which are sealed) available to the Office of the Victim’s Advocate.
    [To authorize the Victim Advocate to
    pursue appellate relief on behalf of crime victims when any right
    afforded to crime victims by the state constitution or the general
    statutes has allegedly been violated in any court proceeding, to
    authorize the Victim Advocate, within limits, to issue a subpoena in
    the course of conducting an investigation and to include the Victim
    Advocate among the individuals and agencies that have access to the
    records of any youth adjudged a youthful offender.]
  • H. B. 6871 concerning the juvenile system and the creation of a Commission on Child Protection.
    [To eliminate the conflict of interest inherent in the current method of appointing attorneys in certain juvenile matters by establishing a Commission on Child Protection that shall have responsibility for administering a system for the appointment of attorneys in cases in which a child is alleged to be uncared-for, neglected, abused, dependent or in a family with service needs, or is the subject of a petition for termination of parental rights, and to ensure a high quality of legal representation for children and indigent parents in such cases by requiring the commission to establish training, practice and caseload standards.]
  • S. B. 1280 requiring notification of the Office of Victim Services when the DOC releases an inmate. Is this really necessary?
  • H. B. 6901 is the bill that punishes adults for providing alcohol to minors, something that I wrote about here.
  • S. B. 516 entitled "An Act concerning the penalty for cruelty to persons". Sounds more dramatic than it is.
    [To ensure that a person who abuses another person who is elderly, blind, disabled or mentally retarded receives appropriate punishment.]
  • S. B. 892 regarding eliminating statutory rape between minors within a few years of each other. This seems to be the granddaddy today, so I’ll give it a separate post.
  • H. B. 6722 – the cell phone in cars bill.
  • S. B. 975 – concerning the penalty for violation of a restraining order – making it a D felony instead of the current A misdemeanor.

Whew, that’s a lot to keep track of.