PRINTER'S NO. 2922
No. 66 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY PARKER, HARPER, ADOLPH, BENNINGTON, BRENNAN,
CLYMER, CURRY, FRANKEL, GOODMAN, HARHART, HARRIS, HENNESSEY,
HESS, HORNAMAN, JAMES, JOSEPHS, KILLION, KOTIK, MANDERINO,
McILHATTAN, MENSCH, MICOZZIE, R. MILLER, MURT, M. O'BRIEN,
PHILLIPS, ROEBUCK, ROSS, RUBLEY, K. SMITH, SURRA, J. TAYLOR,
VEREB, WATSON, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD, CONKLIN,
McILVAINE SMITH AND GIBBONS, DECEMBER 4, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, DECEMBER 4, 2007
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for expert
3 testimony in certain criminal proceedings.
4 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
5 (1) Research indicates that victims of sex crimes behave
6 in any number of ways, but because of the prevalence and
7 persistence of myths regarding sex crimes, jurors often
8 perceive common victim behaviors as counterintuitive and
9 compelling evidence of a victim's lack of credibility.
10 (2) To overcome these myths and misunderstandings
11 related to victim behavior, many courts have recognized that
12 expert testimony is necessary to provide jurors with the
13 proper context in which to evaluate a victim's behaviors.
14 (3) Without an accurate context in which to evaluate
15 victim behaviors, it is common for jurors to fail to
16 recognize a victim's behavior as a common response to trauma.
1 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2 hereby enacts as follows:
3 Section 1. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
4 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
5 § 5920. Expert testimony in certain criminal proceedings.
6 (a) Scope.--This section applies to all of the following:
7 (1) A criminal proceeding for an offense for which
8 registration is required under section 9795.1 (relating to
9 registration).
10 (2) A criminal proceeding for an offense under 18
11 Pa.C.S. § 3122.1 (relating to statutory sexual assault).
12 (b) Rule.--In an action subject to this section, testimony
13 by an expert qualified by the court regarding any recognized and
14 accepted form of post-traumatic stress disorder and any
15 recognized and accepted counterintuitive victim behavior shall
16 be admissible.
17 Section 2. The addition of 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 shall apply to
18 actions initiated on or after the effective date of this
19 section.
20 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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