Bill Description: Senate Bill 1232 would repeal and replace Idaho’s “Son of Sam Law,” which directs proceeds paid to an offender to victims of their crimes.
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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?
Senate Bill 1232 would repeal Section 19-5301, Idaho Code, and replace it with Chapter 63, Title 19, Idaho Code. While both the repealed section and its proposed replacement address the same issue, there are some notable differences and improvements.
The core of the law remains the same. Proceeds derived from the notoriety of the crime are paid into an escrow account that is made available to victims of the offender’s crime.
While parts of the current law apply to anyone “accused of a crime in this state,” the new language more appropriately defines an “offender” as “any person convicted of a crime, including juveniles and persons found not guilty by reason of insanity.”
The new language also clarifies that the law applies to “money, property, royalties, or anything of value that an offender receives because of the crime’s publicity, including book or movie deals, interviews, or paid appearances”; but not to “ordinary wages, income unrelated to the crime, or income from works that only mention the crime in passing.” This language is more precise than the current law.
The new law would also explicitly clarify First Amendment protections, stating, “Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as restricting or censoring freedom of speech. The provisions of this chapter shall apply only to money made from the publicity of a crime, not to the content of expression itself.”
It further says, “The provisions of this chapter shall be construed narrowly to comply with the first amendment to the constitution of the United States and section 9, article I of the constitution of the state of Idaho.”
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