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Sponsor asks to continue hearing on bill to provide victims free police reports
Summary
Representative John McDonald asked the Judiciary Committee to continue House Bill 218 while stakeholders finalize an amendment that would deliver victims a free initial police report; prosecutors warned about pretrial disclosure and confidential materials, and an advocacy group said it supports the bill.
Representative John McDonald, sponsor of House Bill 218, told the Senate Judiciary Committee the bill would provide a victim of a crime with a free police report. McDonald asked the committee to continue the hearing to allow stakeholders time to finalize an amendment.
"This bill in a nutshell is basically to provide a victim of a crime a free police report," McDonald said, and added that stakeholders were "99% in agreement" on a proposed amendment.
A prosecutor participating as a stakeholder described concerns about providing full police files pretrial. Steven Andrews of the Merrimack County Attorney's Office told the committee that giving victims police reports before trial can present risks to defendants' fair-trial rights, including potential publication or sharing of reports and the effect of witnesses tailoring testimony. "I have a concern that if a victim is provided with a police report and they decide to, for example, publish somehow that police report, that could theoretically impact the defendant's right to a fair trial," Andrews said.
Andrews also noted that case files can include sensitive third-party material—criminal histories, medical or mental-health records—that may require redaction before disclosure. He said he has fewer concerns with post-trial disclosure but recommended careful drafting of any pretrial release provisions.
Pamela Kailick of the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence testified in support of the bill and thanked the sponsor and stakeholders for continued work on an amendment.
McDonald requested that the committee set the bill aside and reconvene the hearing after stakeholders circulate the proposed amendment. The committee accepted the request and paused further action on the bill for the hearing record in the provided transcript.
No formal committee vote on HB 218 was recorded in the excerpt; the sponsor asked for more time to reach agreement on redactions and procedural safeguards.
