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| To amend section 2921.04 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| specify that the offense of intimidation of an | 2 |
| attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case | 3 |
| also applies to delinquency cases and to any | 4 |
| attempt to influence, intimidate, or hinder a | 5 |
| witness to a criminal or delinquent act and to | 6 |
| create an affirmative defense to a charge of | 7 |
| intimidation of an attorney, victim, or witness in | 8 |
| a criminal case. | 9 |
| Section 1. That section 2921.04 of the Revised Code be | 10 |
| amended to read as follows: | 11 |
| Sec. 2921.04. (A) No person shall knowingly attempt to | 12 |
| intimidate or hinder the victim of a crime or delinquent act in | 13 |
| the filing or prosecution of criminal charges or a delinquent | 14 |
| child action or proceeding, and no person shall knowingly attempt | 15 |
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to intimidate a witness | 16 |
| 17 | |
| delinquent act by reason of the person being a witness to that | 18 |
| act. | 19 |
| (B) No person, knowingly and by force or by | 20 |
| express or implied threat of harm to any person or property or by | 21 |
| an express or implied threat to commit any offense or calumny | 22 |
| against any person, shall attempt to influence, intimidate, or | 23 |
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hinder | 24 |
| (1) The victim of a crime or delinquent act in the filing or | 25 |
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prosecution of criminal charges or | 26 |
| child action or proceeding; | 27 |
| (2) A witness | 28 |
| by reason of the person being a witness to that act; | 29 |
| (3) An attorney by reason of the attorney's involvement in | 30 |
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any criminal or delinquent child action or proceeding | 31 |
| 32 |
| (C) Division (A) of this section does not apply to any person | 33 |
| who is attempting to resolve a dispute pertaining to the alleged | 34 |
| commission of a criminal offense, either prior to or subsequent to | 35 |
| the filing of a complaint, indictment, or information, by | 36 |
| participating in the arbitration, mediation, compromise, | 37 |
| settlement, or conciliation of that dispute pursuant to an | 38 |
| authorization for arbitration, mediation, compromise, settlement, | 39 |
| or conciliation of a dispute of that nature that is conferred by | 40 |
| any of the following: | 41 |
| (1) A section of the Revised Code; | 42 |
| (2) The Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Rules of | 43 |
| Superintendence for Municipal Courts and County Courts, the Rules | 44 |
| of Superintendence for Courts of Common Pleas, or another rule | 45 |
| adopted by the supreme court in accordance with section 5 of | 46 |
| Article IV, Ohio Constitution; | 47 |
| (3) A local rule of court, including, but not limited to, a | 48 |
| local rule of court that relates to alternative dispute resolution | 49 |
| or other case management programs and that authorizes the referral | 50 |
| of disputes pertaining to the alleged commission of certain types | 51 |
| of criminal offenses to appropriate and available arbitration, | 52 |
| mediation, compromise, settlement, or other conciliation programs; | 53 |
| (4) The order of a judge of a municipal court, county court, | 54 |
| or court of common pleas. | 55 |
| (D) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this | 56 |
| section that the actor's conduct was a reasonable effort to | 57 |
| negotiate the settlement of a criminal or delinquent child action | 58 |
| or proceeding. | 59 |
| (E) Whoever violates this section is guilty of intimidation | 60 |
| of an attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case. A violation | 61 |
| of division (A) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first | 62 |
| degree. A violation of division (B) of this section is a felony of | 63 |
| the third degree. | 64 |
| (F) As used in this section, "witness" means any person who | 65 |
| has or claims to have knowledge concerning a fact or facts | 66 |
| concerning a criminal or delinquent act, whether or not criminal | 67 |
| or delinquent child charges are actually filed. | 68 |
| Section 2. That existing section 2921.04 of the Revised Code | 69 |
| is hereby repealed. | 70 |