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Public Act 095-1004
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| SB2718 Re-Enrolled |
LRB095 05870 RLC 25961 b |
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is |
amended by adding Section 115-10.6 as follows:
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(725 ILCS 5/115-10.6 new) |
Sec. 115-10.6. Hearsay exception for intentional murder of |
a witness. |
(a) A statement is not rendered inadmissible by the hearsay |
rule if it is offered against a party that has killed the |
declarant in violation of clauses (a)(1) and (a)(2) of Section |
9-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 intending to procure the |
unavailability of the declarant as a witness in a criminal or |
civil proceeding. |
(b) While intent to procure the unavailability of the |
witness is a necessary element for the introduction of the |
statements, it need not be the sole motivation behind the |
murder which procured the unavailability of the declarant as a |
witness. |
(c) The murder of the declarant may, but need not, be the |
subject of the trial at which the statement is being offered. |
If the murder of the declarant is not the subject of the trial |
at which the statement is being offered, the murder need not |
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have ever been prosecuted. |
(d) The proponent of the statements shall give the adverse |
party reasonable written notice of its intention to offer the |
statements and the substance of the particulars of each |
statement of the declarant. For purposes of this Section, |
identifying the location of the statements in tendered |
discovery shall be sufficient to satisfy the substance of the |
particulars of the statement. |
(e) The admissibility of the statements shall be determined |
by the court at a pretrial hearing. At the hearing, the |
proponent of the statement bears the burden of establishing 3 |
criteria by a preponderance of the evidence: |
(1) first, that the adverse party murdered the |
declarant and that the murder was intended to cause the |
unavailability of the declarant as a witness; |
(2) second, that the time, content, and circumstances |
of the statements provide sufficient safeguards of |
reliability; |
(3) third, the interests of justice will best be served |
by admission of the statement into evidence. |
(f) The court shall make specific findings as to each of |
these criteria on the record before ruling on the admissibility |
of said statements. |
(g) This Section in no way precludes or changes the |
application of the existing common law doctrine of forfeiture |
by wrongdoing.
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