This bill (S 5531) creates a new class E felony offense for incarcerated individuals or juveniles in secure facilities who intentionally and without legitimate reason touch another person's intimate areas. It specifically targets situations where the victim is a facility employee (like correctional staff), parole board member, mental health worker, probation officer, or police officer, and the act is meant to degrade, abuse, or gratify sexual desire. The law applies to people in prison, local correctional facilities, hospitals under correctional law, or secure juvenile facilities operated by child services. Violating this law carries felony penalties, including potential imprisonment.
Amends procedures required for the custodial interrogation of children to provide additional protections and for taking juveniles and sixteen and seventeen year olds into custody.
Relates to parole eligibility for crimes committed at age twenty-one or younger; provides if such individual is convicted of a crime prior to their twenty-second birthday for which they were sentenced to a period of incarceration greater than 20 years, they shall be eligible for parole after fifteen years of incarceration.
Bill A 2654 clarifies that only individuals aged 18 or older at the time of the crime may receive a life imprisonment sentence without parole. It specifically applies to convictions for first-degree murder, certain terrorism offenses, or aggravated murder, requiring judges to impose life without parole for 18+ defendants in these cases. The bill also specifies that defendants aged 17 or younger at the time of the crime cannot receive life without parole and must instead be sentenced to an indefinite term with a maximum life sentence. This amendment updates existing sentencing rules to establish a clear age threshold for this severe penalty.
This bill changes sentencing rules for youthful offenders (individuals under 18) who receive a "youthful offender finding" instead of a felony conviction. It requires courts to impose sentences based on the type of felony involved: for felonies in specific articles (e.g., violent or sex offenses), sentences follow class E felony guidelines, including mandatory post-release supervision. For other felonies, standard class E felony sentencing applies, but judges cannot issue conditional/unconditional discharges in certain cases. The law takes effect immediately for offenses committed on or after the effective date.
Increases certain penalties for certain crimes relating to criminal possession of a weapon or firearm; relates to the release of information to the public, schools or law enforcement pertaining to youthful and adolescent offenders; establishes the crime of criminal solicitation of a minor in a violent felony; repeals certain provisions relating to disclosure of law enforcement arrest or booking photographs of an individual.
This bill requires correctional facilities to receive foster care records for incarcerated individuals who were previously in foster care. It mandates that the department obtain key details about their foster care history (including age entered and duration of care) and send a copy of these records to the facility where the person is held. This applies to all correctional facilities, including juvenile detention centers. The policy aims to provide relevant background information to correctional staff about individuals with foster care experience.
This bill establishes a judicial diversion program for defendants under 24 charged with non-violent felonies or misdemeanors, allowing them to avoid a criminal conviction by completing a 16-month job training program. Eligibility excludes those with prior violent felony convictions, persistent offender status, or pending violent charges, though prosecutors may later permit participation. Participants must complete job training (including job opportunities and wages), attend court check-ins, and avoid criminal activity during the program. Upon successful completion, the court can dismiss the original charges or allow the defendant to withdraw a guilty plea and enter a misdemeanor plea with probation.
This bill prohibits police officers from using chemical agents - such as pepper spray, tear gas, or oleoresin capsicum - against any minor under 18 years old in all circumstances. It directly affects minors under 18 and requires all police departments to update their use-of-force policies to ban these chemical agents. The law amends existing policy rules to explicitly forbid such use, applying immediately upon enactment. This is a policy change to restrict specific police tactics targeting children, with no exemptions or exceptions specified.
This bill automatically deletes certain arrest records for minors when their criminal case ends in their favor (e.g., dismissed or acquitted) and they have no prior arrests. It specifically requires the removal of photographs, fingerprints, palmprints, and arrest records from official files. The law applies only to minors defined as "juvenile offenders" under existing law, and only if they have no previous criminal history. This creates a clear, automatic process for clearing records to help young people avoid long-term consequences of a single minor offense.
