HB 5505 — AN ACT CONCERNING SELF-DEFENSE, DEFENSE OF A THIRD PERSON AND ASSISTING IN OR EFFECTING AN ARREST AS AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES.

House of Representatives General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

5505544 February Session, 2024 LCOHouse Bill No.

30525505 ReferredHouse toof Representatives, April 17, 2024 The Committee on JUDICIARYJudiciary Introducedreported by:through REP.

(JUD)STAFSTROM ANof ACTthe CONCERNING129th SELF-DEFENSE,Dist., DEFENSEChairperson OFof Athe THIRDCommittee PERSONon ANDthe ASSISTINGpart INof ORthe EFFECTINGHouse, ANthat ARRESTthe ASbill AFFIRMATIVEought DEFENSES.to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING SELF-DEFENSE, DEFENSE OF A THIRD PERSON AND ASSISTING IN OR EFFECTING AN ARREST AS AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES.

LCOHB5505 3052/ 1File of 4 Bill No.

5505544 Sec.1 HB5505 File No.

544 Sec.

(A) Upon such person's execution of a written promise to appear without special conditions, (B) upon such person's execution of a written LCOHB5505 3052/ 2File of 4 Bill No.

5505544 promise2 toHB5505 appearFile withNo. nonfinancial conditions, (C) upon such person's executionofa bondwithout surety innogreater amount thannecessary, or (D) upon such person's execution of a bond with surety in no greater amount than necessary, but in no event shall a judge prohibit a bond from being posted by surety.

544 promise to appear with nonfinancial conditions, (C) upon such person's executionofa bondwithout surety innogreater amount thannecessary, or (D) upon such person's execution of a bond with surety in no greater amount than necessary, but in no event shall a judge prohibit a bond from being posted by surety.

(3) When imposing conditions of release under this subsection, the court shall state for the record any factors under subdivision (2) of this subsection that it considered and the findings that it made as to the danger, if any, that the arrested person might pose to the safety of any LCOHB5505 3052/ 3File of 4 Bill No.

5505544 other3 personHB5505 uponFile theNo. arrested person's release that caused the court to impose the specific conditions of release that it imposed.

544 other person upon the arrested person's release that caused the court to impose the specific conditions of release that it imposed.

3 October 1, 2024 54-64a(b) JUD Joint Favorable LCOHB5505 3052/ 4File ofNo. 4

544 4 HB5505 File No.

544 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill, which establishes a new affirmative defense, is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact to the state or to municipalities as the agency has the expertise and resources to meet the requirements of the bill.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None HB5505 / File No.

544 5 HB5505 File No.

544 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5505 AN ACT CONCERNING SELF-DEFENSE, DEFENSE OF A THIRD PERSON AND ASSISTING IN OR EFFECTING AN ARREST AS AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES.

SUMMARY For any case involving the use of physical force, this bill allows a defendant to request a pre-trial hearing on a motion to dismiss the case or individual charges against him or her if the defendant claims, as a defense, that he or she was justified in using physical force when (1) defending himself, herself, or someone else or (2) as a private person or as directed by certain officials, assisting in or effecting an arrest or preventing an escape (see BACKGROUND).

The judge must hear the motion within 45 days and dismiss the case or charge if the defendant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she qualifies for the defense.

(The bill refers to these defenses as “affirmative defenses,” however, by law, they are justification defenses (see CGS § 53a-16).

Among other differences, the two defenses have distinct burdens of proof if raised at a trial (see CGS § 53a-12).) The bill also adds the availability of affirmative defenses to the list of factors that (1) the judicial branch’s Court Support Services Division (CSSD) must consider when creating uniform criteria for releasing arrestees and (2) judges may consider when determining conditions of release for people arrested for certain serious offenses.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2024 CSSD UNIFORM CRITERIA FOR ARRESTEE RELEASE By law, CSSD must establish written, uniform, weighted criteria for releasing an accused after an arrest, with a required preference for the HB5505 / File No.

544 6 HB5505 File No.

544 least restrictive release conditions (1) necessary to ensure the defendant’s court appearance and (2) sufficient to reasonably ensure that anyone else’s safety will not be endangered.

Existing law requires the criteria to be based on certain factors, such as the defendant’s past convictions and financial resources.

The bill also requires the criteria to consider any affirmative defense available to the defendant.

COURT FACTORS FOR CERTAIN SERIOUS OFFENSES By law, when an arrested person is presented to the court for certain serious crimes, the court generally must promptly order the person’s release on the first of the following conditions sufficient to reasonably ensure theperson’sappearance incourt andthat anotherperson’ssafety will not be endangered:

(1) written promise to appear without special conditions, (2) written promise to appear with non-financial conditions, or (3) bond, with or without surety, in no greater amount than necessary.

(Courts cannot require cash-only bail.) This applies if the person is charged with a class A felony;