Richard Bloom
- Democratic
Author
Existing law authorizes a prosecuting witness in specified cases to have up to 2 persons of his or her own choosing for support at the preliminary hearing and at trial, or at a juvenile court proceeding, during the testimony of the prosecuting witness, as specified. This bill would authorize these witnesses, as well as certain child witnesses, to be accompanied by a dog, trained in providing emotional support, while testifying. This bill would set minimum training requirements for these dogs and their handlers and would require a party requesting the use of such a dog to file a motion with the court, specifying the qualifications of and need for the dog. This bill would authorize the court to allow the witness to be accompanied by the dog if certain conditions are met, but would require the court to remove or exclude the dog if the court finds the use of the dog would cause undue prejudice to the defendant or would be unduly disruptive to the court proceeding. The bill would require the court to take appropriate measures to minimize the distraction created by the presence of the dog in the courtroom, including requiring the dog to be accompanied by a handler at all times. The bill would require the court, if the therapy or facility dog is used during a criminal jury trial, to issue, upon request, an appropriate jury instruction designed to prevent prejudice for or against any party.
Approved by the Governor.
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 290, Statutes of 2017.
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3284.).
Assembly Rule 77(a) suspended. (Page 3254.)
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 14 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2681.).
Ordered to third reading.
Ordered to special consent calendar.
Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 27).
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 1260.)
Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 1124.)
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 14).
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
Read first time. To print.
| Bill Text Versions | Format |
|---|---|
| AB411 | HTML |
| 02/09/17 - Introduced | |
| 03/08/17 - Amended Assembly | |
| 04/20/17 - Amended Assembly | |
| 06/20/17 - Amended Senate | |
| 07/06/17 - Amended Senate | |
| 09/15/17 - Enrolled | |
| 09/26/17 - Chaptered |
| Document | Format |
|---|---|
| No related documents. |
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