LCO No. 5539 1 of 2
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7314
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 5539
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING A CRIME VICTIM'S PARTICIPATORY RIGHTS
IN A VIOLATION OF PROBATION OR CONDITION AL DISCHARGE
HEARING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 53a-32 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(c) Upon notification by the probation officer of the arrest of the 4
defendant or upon an arrest by warrant as [herein] provided in this 5
section, the court shall cause the defendant to be brought before it 6
without unnecessary delay for a hearing on the violation charges. The 7
Court Support Services Division shall establish within its policies and 8
procedures a requirement that any victim be notified whenever a 9
hearing is to be held pursuant to this section on a charge that the 10
defendant has violated the conditions of probation or conditional 11
discharge. The court shall permit such victim to appear before the 12
court for the purpose of making a statement for the record concerning 13
the alleged violation of probation or conditional discharge. In lieu of 14 Raised Bill No. 7314
LCO No. 5539 2 of 2
such appearance, the victim may submit a written statement to the 15
court and the court shall make such statement a part of the record. At 16
such hearing the defendant shall be informed of the manner in which 17
such defendant is alleged to have violated the conditions of such 18
defendant's probation or conditional discharge, shall be advised by the 19
court that such defendant has the right to retain counsel and, if 20
indigent, shall be entitled to the services of the public defender, and 21
shall have the right to cross-examine witnesses and to present evidence 22
in such defendant's own behalf. Prior to making a determination as to 23
whether the defendant has violated the conditions of probation or 24
conditional discharge, the court shall consider any statement made or 25
submitted by such victim. Unless good cause is shown, a charge of 26
violation of any of the conditions of probation or conditional discharge 27
shall be disposed of or scheduled for a hearing not later than one 28
hundred twenty days after the defendant is arraigned on such charge. 29
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 53a-32(c)
Statement of Purpose:
To ensure that a crime victim has participatory rights in any hearing
concerning a violation of probation or conditional discharge involving
the person who committed the criminal act.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]