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Sponsors, prosecutors push change to hate-crime language to cover mixed motives; critics warn of vagueness
Summary
The Law & Justice Committee on March 13 heard testimony on Engrossed House Bill 1052, which would define “because of” in the state hate‑crime statute to mean “in whole or in part because of,” allowing mixed‑motive prosecutions when bias is at least one cause of the offense.
The Law & Justice Committee on March 13 considered Engrossed House Bill 1052, which would clarify the state hate‑crime statute by specifying that proscribed conduct committed “in whole or in part because of” a victim’s protected characteristic qualifies as a hate crime. Staff counsel described the current statute’s elements and the proposed change directing jurors that bias need only be a cause in fact of the offense even when other motives also exist.
Yesenia Manzo, King…
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