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Friday, May 7th was the deadline for House bills other than local bills to be taken up and considered by the House. Senate bills can be considered until May 22. This week, the house took up and considered senate bills. This week I will discuss a few of those bills that were passed which relate to criminal justice issues.
Because of the nature of sex offenses committed against a child, there typically is very little evidence to assist prosecutors in proving these crimes. The only evidence in most child sexual abuse cases is the traumatized child's testimony. Evidence of other incidents of sexual abuse involving a different child or multiple children typically is allowed to be presented only after the prosecution obtains a conviction. Therefore, the jury often is left to make a decision regarding the defendant's guilt based on the testimony of the primary child victim and may not get a full picture of the abuse until the punishment phase of trial.
In an effort to provide prosecutors a necessary tool in proving a defendant's propensity for committing these type of crimes, Senate Bill 12 allows evidence of other similar offenses allegedly committed by the defendant to be admitted in the trial of pertaining to the sexual abuse of a child.
In Texas, increasingly sophisticated criminal organizations utilize advanced tactics to launder money. "Structuring" is the act of depositing money in smaller increments in order to avoid the reporting requirements set forth in the Bank Secrecy Act. Current law requires anyone who executes a cash transaction of $10,000 or more to file a currency transaction report (CTR). In an effort to skirt this regulatory requirement, many suspects engaged in money laundering will make multiple deposits on the same day in increments of less than $10,000 to avoid this. Under federal law, this is a felony. Senate Bill 1451 makes "structuring" a state crime. The bill also would allow for the seizure of substitute assets that law enforcement can show were purchased with funds derived from criminal activity, as well as assets not derived from criminal activity up to the amount realized as the gain from criminal activity. This means that law enforcement would be able to seize cars, homes, personal property, et cetera, as recovery for the amount laundered but no longer in possession of the criminals.
Under current law, there is no provision for allowing for the prosecution of a computer crime in the county where the victim resides if different from the residence of the offender. Senate Bill 222 closes this location loophole to better protect victims of online impersonation by authorizing prosecution in the jurisdiction where the victim resides if it is different from the offender.
For more on information these bills or any other matter of state government, please contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by e-mailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.
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