An Act to amend 302.113 (9g) (g) 3., 302.114 (6) (e) and 973.09 (3m) (c); to create 950.06 (1m) (dg) of the statutes; Relating to: crime victim notification cards. (FE)
Summary
AB370 would change who distributes crime victim notification cards in certain criminal cases. Under current law, the clerk of circuit court provides these cards to victims so they can request notice of future proceedings involving a defendant. The bill would shift that responsibility to a county victim and witness office, if the county has one, for cases involving inmates, probationers, and sentence or probation modification proceedings. The cards themselves would still be designed and prepared by the director of state courts, and victims would still return completed cards to the clerk of circuit court in the county where the person was convicted and sentenced.
The bill also creates a new statutory provision directing victim and witness offices to provide information and assistance related to victim notifications for proceedings involving modification of a criminal defendant’s sentence or probation. It preserves existing confidentiality protections by continuing to make court records containing victims’ mailing addresses unavailable for public inspection or copying. Overall, the measure is an administrative change to the victim-notification process rather than a substantive change to sentencing, probation, or inmate release law.
Impact
AB370 would amend sections 302.113, 302.114, and 973.09 of the Wisconsin Statutes and create section 950.06 (1m) (dg). Its practical effect is to reassign a clerical and outreach function from circuit court clerks to county victim and witness offices in counties that have those offices, while leaving the underlying victim-notification rights and procedures intact. The bill affects crime victims, circuit court clerks, county victim and witness offices, and the director of state courts, and it maintains confidentiality for victims’ mailing addresses.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the bill was generally procedural and likely noncontroversial in concept, as it focuses on improving the delivery of victim notification cards and related assistance. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the provided materials indicating opposition or debate. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, but the context does not show whether that failure reflected disagreement with the policy or broader legislative process issues.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of interest, based on the text, would be the administrative shift from clerks of court to victim and witness offices, the resource implications for counties without such offices, and whether the change would improve victim access to notifications. However, no speaker, committee, or vote record is available here to attribute any opposition or support to particular stakeholders.
Crossfiled
An Act to amend 302.113 (9g) (g) 3., 302.114 (6) (e) and 973.09 (3m) (c); to create 950.06 (1m) (dg) of the statutes; Relating to: crime victim notification cards. (FE)