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Victim-services office asks committee to make notification opt-in; attorney general warns of constitutional and safety risks
Summary
A dispute over how victims receive custody and release notifications surfaced in committee: the Department of Corrections’ victim-services team urged changes to make notifications sent only when victims request them; the Attorney General’s office cautioned the change could conflict with Marsy’s constitutional rights and leave victims uninformed.
The House Judiciary Committee considered House Bill 1061, which proposes edits to statutes governing victim notifications and the state’s automated notification system. Charlie Hedden of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s victim services team requested changes to three subsections to ensure victims would receive movement, hearing and release notices only if they asked to receive them.
Hedden said his office regularly fields requests from victims who asked that notifications stop because receiving movement or release notices retraumatizes them. He asked the committee to amend current language that requires custodial authorities to notify victims even if the victims have not registered in the statewide automated victim information and notification system (SAVIN). Hedden also asked that notices include educational release as a reportable movement and that notice be permitted from an authorized representative rather than naming only Parole Board staff.
The Attorney General’s office, represented by Heidi Smith, opposed the changes. Smith said the proposed language conflicts with Article I, Section 25 of the North Dakota Constitution (Marsy’s Law), which guarantees victims the right to reasonable, accurate and timely notice of release, escape and court proceedings. The AG’s office argued the bill would shift responsibility onto victims to know about SAVIN and to opt in, and it would remove custodial authorities’ obligation to provide notice to victims who are not registered. Smith said SAVIN is a tool to assist custodial authorities and that in-person or direct phone contact (for example in the case of an escape or in-custody death) remains an important method of notification.
Committee members asked about how registration works for minors who later become adults, how victims learn of SAVIN and whether in-person notification should be preserved for certain events. Hedden said victim-services staff and county victim-witness advocates provide Marsy’s cards and assist with registration; Smith said SAVIN administrators and custodial agencies can see registrations and are expected to provide in-person notifications when necessary.
The hearing record includes written material from the North Dakota Domestic and Sexual Violence Coalition submitted in support of the bill; the AG’s office asked the committee to recommend do not pass. At the time the transcript ends, no committee vote on HB1061 had been recorded.
