Bill Text: MS HB1033 | 2014 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Domestic violence; revise.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-03-12 - Died On Calendar [HB1033 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2014-HB1033-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Campbell, Faulkner, Anderson
House Bill 1033
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE OFFENSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; TO PROVIDE FOR CRIMINAL PROTECTION ORDERS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 97-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-7. (1) (a) A person is guilty of simple assault if he (i) attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another; (ii) negligently causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm; or (iii) attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm; and, upon conviction, he shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both.
(b) However, a person convicted of simple assault (i) upon a statewide elected official, law enforcement officer, fireman, emergency medical personnel, public health personnel, social worker or family protection specialist or family protection worker employed by the Department of Human Services or another agency, youth detention center personnel, training school juvenile care worker, any county or municipal jail officer, superintendent, principal, teacher or other instructional personnel, school attendance officer, school bus driver, or a judge of a circuit, chancery, county, justice, municipal or youth court or a judge of the Court of Appeals or a justice of the Supreme Court, district attorney, legal assistant to a district attorney, county prosecutor, municipal prosecutor, court reporter employed by a court, court administrator, clerk or deputy clerk of the court, or public defender, while such statewide elected official, judge or justice, law enforcement officer, fireman, emergency medical personnel, public health personnel, social worker, family protection specialist, family protection worker, youth detention center personnel, training school juvenile care worker, any county or municipal jail officer, superintendent, principal, teacher or other instructional personnel, school attendance officer, school bus driver, district attorney, legal assistant to a district attorney, county prosecutor, municipal prosecutor, court reporter employed by a court, court administrator, clerk or deputy clerk of the court, or public defender is acting within the scope of his duty, office or employment; (ii) upon a legislator while the Legislature is in regular or extraordinary session or while otherwise acting within the scope of his duty, office or employment; or (iii) upon a person who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older or a person who is a vulnerable adult, as defined in Section 43-47-5, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both.
(2) (a) A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he (i) attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury purposely, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; (ii) attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm; or (iii) causes any injury to a child who is in the process of boarding or exiting a school bus in the course of a violation of Section 63-3-615; and, upon conviction, he shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year or in the Penitentiary for not more than twenty (20) years.
(b) However, a person convicted of aggravated assault (i) upon a statewide elected official, law enforcement officer, fireman, emergency medical personnel, public health personnel, social worker, family protection specialist, family protection worker employed by the Department of Human Services or another agency, youth detention center personnel, training school juvenile care worker, any county or municipal jail officer, superintendent, principal, teacher or other instructional personnel, school attendance officer, school bus driver, or a judge of a circuit, chancery, county, justice, municipal or youth court or a judge of the Court of Appeals or a justice of the Supreme Court, district attorney, legal assistant to a district attorney, county prosecutor, municipal prosecutor, court reporter employed by a court, court administrator, clerk or deputy clerk of the court, or public defender, while such statewide elected official, judge or justice, law enforcement officer, fireman, emergency medical personnel, public health personnel, social worker, family protection specialist, family protection worker, youth detention center personnel, training school juvenile care worker, any county or municipal jail officer, superintendent, principal, teacher or other instructional personnel, school attendance officer, school bus driver, district attorney, legal assistant to a district attorney, county prosecutor, municipal prosecutor, court reporter employed by a court, court administrator, clerk or deputy clerk of the court, or public defender is acting within the scope of his duty, office or employment; (ii) upon a legislator while the Legislature is in regular or extraordinary session or while otherwise acting within the scope of his duty, office or employment; or (iii) upon a person who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older or a person who is a vulnerable adult, as defined in Section 43-47-5, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) years, or both.
(3) (a) A person is guilty of simple domestic violence who:
(i) Attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;
(ii) Negligently causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm; or
(iii) Attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm when the offense is committed against a current or former spouse of the defendant or a child of that person, a person living as a spouse or who formerly lived as a spouse with the defendant or a child of that person, a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the defendant, a person who has a current or former dating relationship with the defendant, or a person with whom the defendant has had a biological or legally adopted child. Upon conviction, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both.
(b) * * *
Simple
domestic violence third: A person is guilty of the felony of simple domestic
violence third who commits simple domestic violence as defined in subsection
(3)(a) of this section and who has two (2) prior convictions within seven (7)
years for simple domestic violence under * * * subsection (3)(a), any
combination of simple domestic violence under subsection (3)(a) of this section
and aggravated domestic violence as defined in subsection (4)(a) of this
section or * * *
substantially similar offenses under the laws of another state,
of the United States, or of a federally recognized Native American tribe,
whether against the same or another victim * * *. For purposes of determining the number of
prior convictions, the court shall disregard any conviction occurring more than
seven (7) years before the simple domestic violence offense in question or any
conviction occurring after the simple domestic violence offense in question.
There shall be no requirement that the defendant have been convicted of
offenses specifically designated as simple domestic violence first or second
for subsection (3)(b) to be applicable. Upon conviction, the defendant
shall be * * * and sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than
five (5) nor more than ten (10) years. * * *
(c) * * * Simple
domestic violence fourth or subsequent: A person is guilty of simple domestic
violence fourth or subsequent who commits simple domestic violence as defined
in subsection (3)(a) of this section and who has at least three (3) prior
convictions for simple domestic violence under subsection (3)(a) of this
section, any combination of simple domestic violence under subsection (3)(a)
and aggravated domestic violence as defined under subsection 4(a) of this
section, or substantially similar offenses under the laws of another state, of
the United States, or of a federally recognized native American tribe, whether
against the same or another victim. For purposes of this subsection (3)(c),
any prior conviction for the offenses indicated shall count toward the felony
enhancement regardless of the time period over which the prior convictions
occurred. However, the prior convictions must have occurred before the
commission of the offense in question. There shall be no requirement that the
defendant have been convicted of offenses specifically designated as simple
domestic violence first, second, or third for subsection (3)(c) to be
applicable. Upon conviction for simple domestic violence fourth or subsequent,
the defendant shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than ten
(10) years nor more than fifteen (15) years.
(4) (a) A person is guilty of aggravated domestic violence who:
(i) Attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such an injury purposely, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;
(ii) Attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm; or
(iii) Strangles, or attempts to strangle another, when the offense is committed against a current or former spouse of the defendant or a child of that person, a person living as a spouse or who formerly lived as a spouse with the defendant or a child of that person, a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the defendant, a person who has a current or former dating relationship with the defendant, or a person with whom the defendant has had a biological or legally adopted child. Upon conviction, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years.
(b) * * * Aggravated
domestic violence third: A person is guilty of aggravated domestic
violence third who commits aggravated domestic violence as defined in
subsection (4)(a) of this section and who has two (2) prior convictions within
the past seven (7) years for aggravated domestic violence under this section or
substantially similar offenses under the laws of another state, of the United
States, or of a federally recognized native American tribe, whether against
the same or another victim * * *. For purposes of determining the
number of prior convictions, the court shall disregard any conviction occurring
more than seven (7) years before the aggravated domestic violence offense in
question or any conviction occurring after the commission of the offense in
question. There shall be no requirement that the defendant have been convicted
of offenses specifically designated as aggravated domestic violence first or
second for subsection (4)(b) to be applicable. Upon conviction for aggravated
domestic violence third, the defendant shall be * * * sentenced to a term of
imprisonment of not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty (20) years. * * *
(c) Aggravated domestic violence fourth or subsequent: A person is guilty of aggravated domestic violence fourth or subsequent who commits aggravated domestic violence as defined in subsection (4)(a) of this section and who has at least three (3) prior convictions for aggravated domestic violence under subsection (4) or substantially similar offenses under the laws of another state, of the United States, or of a federally recognized native American tribe, whether against the same or another victim. For purposes of this subsection, any prior conviction for the offenses indicated shall count toward the enhancement regardless of the time period over which the prior convictions occurred except that the prior convictions must have occurred before the commission of the offense in question. There shall be no requirement that the defendant have been convicted of offenses specifically designated as aggravated domestic violence first, second or third for subsection (4)(c) to be applicable. Upon conviction for aggravated domestic violence fourth or subsequent, the defendant shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than fifteen (15) years nor more than twenty (20) years.
( * * *5) In sentencing under subsections
(3) and (4) of this section, the court shall consider as an aggravating
factor whether the crime was committed in the physical presence or hearing of a
child under sixteen (16) years of age who was, at the time of the offense,
living within either the residence of the victim, the residence of the
perpetrator, or the residence where the offense occurred.
( * * *6) Reasonable discipline of a child,
such as spanking, is not an offense under * * * subsection (3) or (4) of this section.
( * * *7) A person convicted of aggravated
domestic violence under subsection (4)(a), (b) or (c) of this section
shall not be eligible for parole under the provisions of Section 47-7-3(1)(c)
until he shall have served one (1) year of his sentence.
( * * *8) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Strangle" means to restrict the flow of oxygen or blood by intentionally applying pressure on the neck, throat or chest of another person by any means or to intentionally block the nose or mouth of another person by any means.
(b) "Dating relationship" means a social relationship as defined in Section 93-21-3.
( * * *9) Every conviction of domestic
violence under subsection (3) or (4) of this section may require as a
condition of any suspended sentence that the defendant participate in
counseling or treatment to bring about the cessation of domestic abuse. The
defendant may be required to pay all or part of the cost of the counseling or
treatment, in the discretion of the court.
(10) (a) Upon conviction for any offense under subsection (3) or (4) of this section, the court shall be empowered to issue a criminal protection order prohibiting the defendant from any contact with the victim. The court may include in a criminal protection order any other condition available under Section 93-21-15. The duration of a criminal protection order shall be based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations, and the continued safety of the victim or another person, however, municipal and justice courts may issue criminal protection orders for a maximum period of time not to exceed one (1) year. Circuit and county courts may issue a criminal protection order for any period of time deemed necessary.
(b) A criminal protection order shall not be issued against the defendant if the victim of the offense or the victim's lawful representative (where the victim is a minor or incompetent person) objects to its issuance.
(c) Criminal protection orders shall be issued on the standardized form developed by the Office of the Attorney General and a copy provided to both the victim and the defendant.
(d) It shall be a misdemeanor to violate any condition of a criminal protection order. Upon conviction for such violation, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. In the investigation of allegations of a violation of a criminal protection order, law enforcement officers shall utilize the form prescribed for such purposes by the Office of the Attorney General in consultation with the sheriff's and police chief's associations. However, failure of law enforcement to utilize the uniform offense report shall not be a defense to a crime charged under this subsection (10).
( * * *11) When investigating allegations of
a violation of subsection (3) or (4) of this section, regardless of whether
an arrest results, law enforcement officers shall utilize the form
prescribed for such purposes by the Office of the Attorney General in
consultation with the sheriff's and police chief's associations. However,
failure of law enforcement to utilize the uniform offense report shall not be a
defense to a crime charged under subsection (3) or (4) of this section. The
uniform offense report shall not be required if the offense investigated does
not involve persons in the relationships specified in subsections (3) and (4).
( * * *12) In any conviction * * *
under
subsection (3) or (4) of this section * * *
or of any violation of a criminal protection order under subsection (10) of
this section, the sentencing order shall include the designation
"domestic violence." The court clerk shall enter the disposition of
the matter into the corresponding uniform offense report.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.
