Proposed law would remove threat of jail from domestic violence victims

Under the terms of a bill that passed the California Assembly, domestic violence victims will no longer face jail time for refusing to testify against their alleged abusers in court.

Local prosecutors and public defenders said the results of the bill, if signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, could be mixed.

Prosecutors said the ability to jail victims for refusing to testify in domestic violence cases is a rarely-exercised but powerful tool in prosecuting abusers. Proponents of the bill said jailing domestic violence survivors puts them through added trauma.

Under the existing law, a victim who refuses to testify can be held in contempt of court and could face jail time. The courts must first require reluctant victims to attend a domestic violence counseling class or do community service before ordering jail time. Sexual assault victims are already protected from being jailed for refusing to testify against their accused attackers. The bill that passed the California Assembly on Monday would extend the same level of immunity to domestic violence victims.

The California Public Defenders Association supported the bill, which passed the Assembly by a 45-21 vote, according to the California Legislative Information Web site. San Bernardino County Public Defender Doreen Boxer said it remains to be seen how the new rules might play out.

“It’s obviously in the best interests of the victim to protect them from being incarcerated and possibly victimized a second time,” she said.

At the same time Boxer said she is concerned that removing the threat of jail for contempt of court could lead to more people bringing false accusations of domestic violence, knowing they would not be forced to testify.

The California District Attorney’s Association opposed the bill, arguing that removing the threat of jail time for contempt of court could make victims more susceptible to pressure from their abusers.

 “The current law takes power out of the hands of the perpetrator to prevent victims from cooperating with law enforcement,” said Gary Roth, chief deputy district attorney for the Desert-Mountain region of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.

Still, both public defenders and prosecutors said that jail is rarely imposed on domestic violence victims. Boxer could not recall a case in her 20 years of law practice in which a domestic violence victim was jailed for refusing to testify, while Roth said he could recall only one time the power had been exercised in the High Desert in the past several years.

“We don’t want to send the victim to jail,” he said. “That’s something to be avoided at all costs.”

Peggi Fries, executive director of the Haley House/Desert Sanctuary domestic violence shelter in Barstow, agreed that she has never encountered a case in Barstow in which a domestic violence victim was arrested or prosecuted for refusing to testify.

Fries said she does not believe victims should be threatened with jail time for refusing to take the stand, due to the danger of retaliation by their abusers.

“A victim might know a little more than even a district attorney about what kind of danger they’re in, or what kind of retaliation the perpetrator is capable of,” she said.

Julie Peterson, lead deputy district attorney for the family violence unit in the Victorville District Attorney’s Office, said realistically, the change in the law may not impact many cases. Some domestic violence victims will show up wanting to testify against their accused abusers, while others want to take the stand to recant their accusations. A relatively small number of victims refuse to testify at all.

The governor’s office did not say whether Schwarzenegger will sign the bill into law.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or abby_sewell@link.freedom.com