Bill

Bill > A3476


NJ A3476

Establishes right of sexual assault victim to notification of certain developments in criminal case.


summary

Introduced
03/05/2018
In Committee
03/05/2018
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/08/2020

Introduced Session

2018-2019 Regular Session

Bill Summary

This bill requires sexual assault victims to be notified of certain developments concerning the evidence in their case. Specifically, the bill expands the State's Crime Victim's Bill of Rights to give sexual assault victims the right to be informed if: (1) a DNA profile of an assailant was obtained from the processing of evidence in the sexual assault case; (2) a DNA profile of an assailant has been entered into any data bank designed or intended to be used for the retention or comparison of case evidence; (3) there is a match between the DNA profile of an assailant obtained in the sexual assault case and any DNA profile contained in any data bank designed or intended to be used for the retention or comparison of case evidence; and (4) sexual assault evidence is submitted to a forensic laboratory, if that evidence is compared against any data bank, and the results of the comparison. Under the bill, upon a victim's request, the law enforcement agency with the primary responsibility for investigating a sexual assault case is required to inform the victim of the status of the processing of all evidence collected in that case. The bill authorizes the victim to designate another person of the victim's choosing to receive information requested by the sexual assault victim or any notice required by the bill. The victim is responsible for keeping the law enforcement agency informed of the name, address, telephone number, and electronic mail address of the person to whom the information should be provided, and of any changes in this information.

AI Summary

This bill establishes the "Sexual Assault Victims' Rights Act," which gives sexual assault victims the right to be notified of certain developments in their criminal case. Key provisions include: the right to be informed if a DNA profile of the assailant was obtained and entered into a DNA database, if there is a match between the DNA profile and a database, and when the sexual assault evidence is submitted to a forensic laboratory and compared against a database. The bill requires the law enforcement agency investigating the case to inform the victim of the status of the evidence processing upon the victim's request, and allows the victim to designate someone else to receive this information. The bill aims to provide transparency and better inform sexual assault victims throughout the legal process.

Committee Categories

Justice

Sponsors (1)

Last Action

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee (on 03/05/2018)

bill text


bill summary

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