As Reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee            1            

122nd General Assembly                                             4            

   Regular Session                             Am. H. B. No. 161   5            

      1997-1998                                                    6            


REPRESENTATIVES HOTTINGER-JACOBSON-TAYLOR-SCHULER-HAINES-BRADING-  8            

  CORBIN-O'BRIEN-GARCIA-PRINGLE-MOTTLEY-HOOD-MAIER-LUCAS-MASON-    9            

 BATCHELDER-CAREY-GRENDELL-REID-VERICH-MYERS-TERWILLEGER-OLMAN-    10           

    CLANCY-ROMAN-AMSTUTZ-WILLIAMS-OPFER-BENDER-MOTTL-VESPER-       11           

 MILLER-BUCHY-STAPLETON-BRADY-HOUSEHOLDER-YOUNG-THOMAS-SALERNO-    12           

          SENATORS BLESSING-B. JOHNSON-HOWARD-OELSLAGER            13           


                                                                   15           

                           A   B I L L                                          

             To amend section 2921.32 of the Revised Code to       17           

                expand the offense of obstructing justice to       18           

                include aiding a child who commits  a delinquent   19           

                act.                                               20           




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        21           

      Section 1.  That section 2921.32 of the Revised Code be      23           

amended to read as follows:                                        24           

      Sec. 2921.32.  (A)  No person, with purpose to hinder the    33           

discovery, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment    34           

of another for crime, or to assist another to benefit from the     35           

commission of a crime, AND NO PERSON, WITH PURPOSE TO HINDER THE   36           

DISCOVERY, APPREHENSION, PROSECUTION, ADJUDICATION AS A            37           

DELINQUENT CHILD, OR DISPOSITION OF A CHILD FOR AN ACT THAT IF     38           

COMMITTED BY AN ADULT WOULD BE A CRIME OR TO ASSIST A CHILD TO     39           

BENEFIT FROM THE COMMISSION OF AN ACT THAT IF COMMITTED BY AN      40           

ADULT WOULD BE A CRIME, shall do any of the following:                          

      (1)  Harbor or conceal the other person OR CHILD;            42           

      (2)  Provide the other person OR CHILD with money,           44           

transportation, a weapon, a disguise, or other means of avoiding   45           

discovery or apprehension;                                         46           

      (3)  Warn the other person OR CHILD of impending discovery   48           

                                                          2      

                                                                 
or apprehension;                                                   49           

      (4)  Destroy or conceal physical evidence of the crime OR    51           

ACT, or induce any person to withhold testimony or information or  52           

to elude legal process summoning the person to testify or supply   53           

evidence;                                                          54           

      (5)  Communicate false information to any person.            56           

      (B)(1)  Whoever violates this section is guilty of           58           

obstructing justice.                                                            

      (2)  If the crime committed by the person aided is a         60           

misdemeanor OR IF THE ACT COMMITTED BY THE CHILD AIDED WOULD BE A  61           

MISDEMEANOR IF COMMITTED BY AN ADULT, obstructing justice is a     62           

misdemeanor of the same degree as the crime committed by the       64           

person aided OR A MISDEMEANOR OF THE SAME DEGREE THAT THE ACT      65           

COMMITTED BY THE CHILD AIDED WOULD BE IF COMMITTED BY AN ADULT.    66           

      (3)  Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(4) of      68           

this section, if the crime committed by the person aided is a      69           

felony OR IF THE ACT COMMITTED BY THE CHILD AIDED WOULD BE A       70           

FELONY IF COMMITTED BY AN ADULT, obstructing justice is a felony   72           

of the fifth degree.                                                            

      (4)  If the crime committed by the person aided is           74           

aggravated murder, murder, or a felony of the first or second      75           

degree OR IF THE ACT COMMITTED BY THE CHILD AIDED WOULD BE ONE OF  76           

THOSE OFFENSES IF COMMITTED BY AN ADULT and if the offender knows  77           

or has reason to believe that the crime committed by the person    78           

aided is one of those offenses OR THAT THE ACT COMMITTED BY THE    79           

CHILD AIDED WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE OFFENSES IF COMMITTED BY AN      80           

ADULT, obstructing justice is a felony of the third degree.        81           

      (C)  AS USED IN THIS SECTION:                                83           

      (1)  "ADULT" AND "CHILD" HAVE THE SAME MEANINGS AS IN        85           

SECTION 2151.011 OF THE REVISED CODE.                              86           

      (2)  "DELINQUENT CHILD" HAS THE SAME MEANING AS IN SECTION   88           

2151.02 OF THE REVISED CODE.                                                    

      Section 2.  That existing section 2921.32 of the Revised     90           

Code is hereby repealed.                                           91