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