{"id":2498,"date":"2020-02-24T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T19:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498"},"modified":"2020-02-24T16:47:11","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T23:47:11","slug":"senator-patricia-bates-authors-measure-to-keep-sex-offender-court-hearings-open-to-the-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498","title":{"rendered":"Senator Patricia Bates Authors Measure to Keep Sex Offender Court Hearings Open to the Public"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO \u2013 Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) announced today that she has introduced legislation in partnership with San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan to extend the presumption of openness that exists in California courtrooms to proceedings under the Sexually Violent Predator Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cDistrict Attorney Stephan and I believe that court hearings for sexually violent predators should be open to the public unless a judge can provide a compelling reason,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>said Senator Bates.\u00a0\u201cVictims, their families, and the public have a legitimate interest in witnessing hearings through which a predator might be released. I look forward to working with the District Attorney and my legislative colleagues to update the law so that court proceedings concerning sexual predators are not held behind closed doors.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senate Bill 1023 (Bates) would require that proceedings for the civil commitment of a sexually violent predator and subsequent hearings regarding his\/her potential release be in open court and on the record, unless compelling and extraordinary circumstances justify closing the courtroom to the public. This bill would require there be a notice to all parties of the proposed closure and that it be made at least 10 calendar days prior to the closed court hearing.<\/p>\n

Senator Bates and District Attorney Stephan say the bill is necessary because closed proceedings are inconsistent with the openness to which most people of a democracy are accustomed. The U.S. Supreme Court has opined that civil proceedings should be closed \u201conly in the rarest of circumstances.\u201d Additionally, the closure of these proceedings is in conflict with the constitutional rights of crime victims to be notified of and participate in hearings related to their assailant\u2019s detention and release.<\/p>\n

District Attorney Stephan said,\u00a0\u201cThis important legislation supports the principles of democracy and transparency in our justice system by making sure court hearings for sexually-violent predators are open to the public. As District Attorney, I hear the pain from victims who\u2019ve been terrorized by a sexual predator but are left in the dark and not able to learn pertinent information guaranteed to them by our open courts system. I\u2019m grateful for Senator Bates\u2019 commitment to this bill which will ensure transparency during SVP hearings.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A trend has emerged as of late where trial court judges, considering the potential release of sexually violent predators into local communities, have ordered those proceedings be closed to the public while increasingly sealing evidentiary documents relevant to the defendant\u2019s sexually violent predatory behavior. Civil commitment proceedings involve a determination of the defendant\u2019s mental health, the case also involves the defendant\u2019s past convictions, which are a matter of public concern and the records of which may already be available to the public.<\/p>\n

Mary Taylor and Cynthia Medina, the victims of a sexually violent predator and leaders of a victims\u2019 rights group called \u201cYour Voice Has Power\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(which was formed in part due to a judge\u2019s order to close proceedings)\u00a0took part in multiple protests outside of a San Diego courthouse in 2018 and 2019 because the judge did not allow for an open court.<\/p>\n

The victims stated that the judge was violating Marsy\u2019s Law, which grants crime victims the right to attend a defendant\u2019s court proceedings and express their views<\/a>. Marsy\u2019s Law traditionally applies to criminal proceedings, however, sexually violent predator proceedings do not possess all the qualities of a criminal prosecution. The legislative intent behind Marsy\u2019s Law, which is centered around victim notification and participation in his or her assailant\u2019s case, would support the ability of victims to be present at sexually violent predator court hearings, where the assailant\u2019s further detention or potential release are being considered by a jury or judge.<\/p>\n

SB 1023 would strengthen Marsy\u2019s Law. The bill is currently awaiting referral to a Senate policy committee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO \u2013 Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) announced today that she has introduced legislation in partnership with San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan to extend the presumption of openness that exists in California courtrooms to proceedings under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. \u201cDistrict Attorney Stephan and I believe that court hearings for sexually violent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"yoast_head":"\nSenator Patricia Bates Authors Measure to Keep Sex Offender Court Hearings Open to the Public - San Diego News Desk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senator Patricia Bates Authors Measure to Keep Sex Offender Court Hearings Open to the Public - San Diego News Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SACRAMENTO \u2013 Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) announced today that she has introduced legislation in partnership with San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan to extend the presumption of openness that exists in California courtrooms to proceedings under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. \u201cDistrict Attorney Stephan and I believe that court hearings for sexually violent...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Diego News Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-24T19:00:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-24T23:47:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/patbates.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"San Diego News Desk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Logo-SanDiegoNewsDesk-Article.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Logo-SanDiegoNewsDesk-Article.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"San Diego News Desk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/\",\"name\":\"San Diego News Desk\",\"description\":\"Your Source for News in San Diego\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/patbates.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/patbates.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2498\",\"name\":\"Senator Patricia Bates Authors Measure to Keep Sex Offender Court Hearings Open to the Public - 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