TESTIMONY OF THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

S.B. NO. 995: AN ACT CONCERNING THE COURT SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

JOINT COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
March 4, 2013

The Division of Criminal Justice strongly supports Section 3 of S.B. No. 995, An Act Concerning the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch, and respectfully recommends the Committee’s JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT. Section 3 of this bill adds employees of the Division of Criminal Justice to those to whom information contained in alternative sentencing plans shall be made available. These plans are prepared by the Court Support Services Division after a defendant has pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement calling for a sentence of two years or less. The plans are available to defense counsel to argue for an alternative sentence, but are not available to the state. This deprives the state of information it needs to decide whether to agree to an alternative sentence or to effectively argue against the proposal. Just as a defendant is entitled to effective assistance of counsel, so is the public. The Division would respectfully request the Committee’s JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT for Section 3 of this bill.