State Rep. Tom Leonard introduced legislation that better protects a victim’s right to speak about crimes that have been committed against them.
House Bill 4839 would eliminate the prohibition against a victim from disclosing the existence of a crime that was committed against them after a defendant has the crime set aside, provided the victim has suffered direct or threatened physical, financial or emotional harm.
It is currently a misdemeanor for anyone other than the person who committed the crime to divulge such information after the conviction is set aside.
“There is a place in our justice system for having certain crimes removed from an individual’s record after they have served their debt to society,” said Leonard, R-DeWitt Township. “However, no victim should be forced to pretend a crime was not committed against them, simply because a conviction was set aside. As a former prosecutor, I believe this is a positive, common-sense reform to protect victims’ rights.”
The measure was referred to the House Criminal Justice Committee.