PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor

Ch. 312

admit an out of court statement by a child; limiting the number of attorneys that
may question the child in a criminal, juvenile delinquency, or child in need of
assistance case; authorizing a victim who files a notification request form and a
State's Attorney to file a leave to appeal an order that denies or fails to consider
certain victims' rights; expanding the rights from which the appeal may be filed to
include the right to address a jury in a death penalty sentencing and the right to
prepare a victim impact statement; prohibiting the stay of a sentencing or
disposition hearing when an appeal is filed under this Act; authorizing the court,
under certain terms, to stay certain proceedings from which an appeal has been
filed specifying the parties to a leave to appeal filed under this Act; establishing the
circumstances under which a victim or a victim's representative may address the
judge before the imposition of a sentence or disposition; establishing the right of a
victim's representative, subject to certain conditions, to address the jury in a death
penalty sentencing; requiring a victim impact statement to identify certain
information relating to contact between the defendant and the victim; expanding
the requirement that a victim be notified of certain postsentencing proceedings to
include victims of certain crimes who suffer direct or threatened physical,
emotional, or financial harm as a direct result of a crime or delinquent act;
requiring the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to notify
certain victims of violent crime if the defendant or inmate has been found guilty of
violating a condition of parole or mandatory supervision or if a warrant or subpoena
is issued for the defendant or inmate; transferring from the Maryland Parole
Commission to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services the
responsibility of receiving and sending certain notices: altering a certain time period
for providing a certain notice; requiring a commitment agency, under certain
circumstances, to notify the victim of certain information and events concerning the
defendant; prohibiting a commitment agency from disclosing to a defendant certain
information regarding the victim; prohibiting a low enforcement agency from
charging a victim for a copy of an incident report in a domestic violence case when
a law enforcement officer responds to a request for assistance; requiring the written
notice given to a victim by a law enforcement officer who responds to a request for
assistance in a domestic violence case to inform the victim of the right to obtain a
copy of the incident report; altering the circumstances under which compliance with
a judgment of restitution shall be required; eliminating a certain time period for
holding certain restitution hearings; providing the Department of Juvenile Justice
with certain responsibilities concerning certain restitution judgements; requiring all
moneys collected from a judgment of restitution to be treated as abandoned
property if a victim cannot be located; requiring a delinquent restitution account to
be referred to the Central Collection Unit if the probation or other supervision is
terminated and restitution is still owed; expanding the availability of benefits from
the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund to victims who suffer psychological injury
as a direct result of a crime felony or physical injury or death directly resulting from a
crime, altering the standard of judgment certain claimants are required to prove in
order to recover from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund; expanding the
right to request HIV testing of offenders to include a law enforcement-officer who
was certain persons who were performing official duties at the time of suspected
exposure; expanding the means by which a person may be considered to be exposed
to HIV; authorizing a victim who receives notification of the results of an HIV test

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