By RONNIE ELLIS
FRANKFORT — A state Senate committee made some significant changes to a House bill designed to protect those facing threats of domestic violence – but the bill’s sponsor doesn’t think the changes will kill the bill.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, sponsored House Bill 1 which he named “Amanda’s Bill” in honor of Amanda Ross who died after allegedly being shot by her former fiancé and one-time lawmaker Steve Nunn. Nunn was subsequently charged with her murder and is lodged in the Fayette County jail.
Stumbo’s bill would allow judges to require those accused of domestic abuse to wear electronic monitoring devices which could alert authorities or the alleged victim of abuse if the wearer came within a proscribed distance..
The bill passed the House easily but subsequently prompted concerns about the cost of the devices to counties, whether the system would be uniformly administered across different jurisdictions and its constitutionality.
On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Jensen, R-London, amended the bill in several ways, the most obvious to require the devices only after an accused abuse had violated a previous domestic violence order. The House version would have allowed judges to order the accused abuser to wear the bracelets if they were named in DVO orders and if they met criteria of an assessment designed to predict whether they might be likely to harm the accuser.
Jensen said most importantly the amendment makes the procedure conform to “more of a criminal process” which increases the standard of proof and does more to protect constitutional guarantees.
Under the Senate change, judges rather than law enforcement would assess the likelihood of violence and local prosecutors would have to attend any domestic violence hearings to advise the accuser of her options, including filing assault charges against he alleged abuser. That, Jensen said, would allow the judge to order the monitoring device to be worn in lieu of jail while awaiting trial as part of pre-trial release.
Ernie Lewis of the Kentucky Criminal Defense Lawyers Association called the changes “salutary” and said he was pleased. He said the amended bill will restrict areas from which the accused is barred to the alleged victim’s residence, place of employment or school. He was also pleased with changes that will bar the use of information gathered by the monitoring devices from being used in other criminal proceedings unless the prosecution secures a court order.
The global positioning system monitors can relay to authorities in real time the whereabouts and movement of those who wear them and store that information. The bill still would make it a Class D felony, punishable by imprisoning for up to 12 months, to tamper with the devices.
Stumbo said the committee’s action on his bill was “a positive sign” but he hadn’t reviewed all of the written changes to his bill. He said it’s possible the House might concur with the changes and avoid having to go to conference on the bill.
As he has previously, Stumbo said the ultimate goal is to give courts a tool to protect victims of domestic abuse and if the measure isn’t acceptable to the judicial system, they won’t utilize it.
RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
