Sec. 320935. ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE OF SIMILAR CRIMES IN SEX OFFENSE CASES

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## SEC. 320935 ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE OF SIMILAR CRIMES IN SEX OFFENSE CASES ###

(a)The Federal Rules of Evidence are amended by adding after Rule 412 the following new rules: > Rule 413. Evidence of Similar Crimes in Sexual Assault Cases > > > ### “(a) > > In a criminal case in which the defendant is accused of an offense of sexual assault, evidence of the defendant's commission of another offense or offenses of sexual assault is admissible, and may be considered for its bearing on any matter to which it is relevant. > > > ### “(b) > > In a case in which the Government intends to offer evidence under this rule, the attorney for the Government shall disclose the evidence to the defendant, including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance of any testimony that is expected to be offered, at least fifteen days before the scheduled date of trial or at such later time as the court may allow for good cause. > > > ### “(c) > > This rule shall not be construed to limit the admission or consideration of evidence under any other rule. > > > ### “(d) > > For purposes of this rule and Rule 415, ‘offense of sexual assault’ means a crime under Federal law or the law of a State (as defined in section 513 of title 18, United States Code) that involved— > > > #### “(1) > > any conduct proscribed by chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code; > > > #### “(2) > > contact, without consent, between any part of the defendant's body or an object and the genitals or anus of another person; > > > #### “(3) > > contact, without consent, between the genitals or anus of the defendant and any part of another person's body; > > > #### “(4) > > deriving sexual pleasure or gratification from the infliction of death, bodily injury, or physical pain on another person; or > > > #### “(5) > > an attempt or conspiracy to engage in conduct described in paragraphs (1)–(4). > > Rule 414. Evidence of Similar Crimes in Child Molestation Cases > > > ### “(a) > > In a criminal case in which the defendant is accused of an offense of child molestation, evidence of the defendant's commission of another offense or offenses of child molestation is admissible, and may be considered for its bearing on any matter to which it is relevant. > > > ### “(b) > > In a case in which the Government intends to offer evidence under this rule, the attorney for the Government shall disclose the evidence to the defendant, including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance of any testimony that is expected to be offered, at least fifteen days before the scheduled date of trial or at such later time as the court may allow for good cause. > > > ### “(c) > > This rule shall not be construed to limit the admission or consideration of evidence under any other rule. > > > ### “(d) > > For purposes of this rule and Rule 415, ‘child’ means a person below the age of fourteen, and ‘offense of child molestation’ means a crime under Federal law or the law of a State (as defined in section 513 of title 18, United States Code) that involved— > > > #### “(1) > > any conduct proscribed by chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code, that was committed in relation to a child; > > > #### “(2) > > any conduct proscribed by chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code; > > > #### “(3) > > contact between any part of the defendant's body or an object and the genitals or anus of a child; > > > #### “(4) > > contact between the genitals or anus of the defendant and any part of the body of a child; > > > #### “(5) > > deriving sexual pleasure or gratification from the infliction of death, bodily injury, or physical pain on a child; or > > > #### “(6) > > an attempt or conspiracy to engage in conduct described in paragraphs (1)–(5). > > Rule 415. Evidence of Similar Acts in Civil Cases Concern- ing Sexual Assault or Child Molestation > > > ### “(a) > > In a civil case in which a claim for damages or other relief is predicated on a party's alleged commission of conduct constituting an offense of sexual assault or child molestation, evidence of that party's commission of another offense or offenses of sexual assault or child molestation is admissible and may be considered as provided in Rule 413 and Rule 414 of these rules. > > > ### “(b) > > A party who intends to offer evidence under this Rule shall disclose the evidence to the party against whom it will be offered, including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance of any testimony that is expected to be offered, at least fifteen days before the scheduled date of trial or at such later time as the court may allow for good cause. > > > ### “(c) > > This rule shall not be construed to limit the admission or consideration of evidence under any other rule.” > ###

(b)Implementation The amendments made by subsection

(a)shall become effective pursuant to subsection (d). ###

(c)Recommendations by Judicial Conference Not later than 150 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall transmit to Congress a report containing recommendations for amending the Federal Rules of Evidence as they affect the admission of evidence of a defendant's prior sexual assault or child molestation crimes in cases involving sexual assault and child molestation. The Rules Enabling Act shall not apply to the recommendations made by the Judicial Conference pursuant to this section. ###

(d)Congressional Action ####

(1)If the recommendations described in subsection

(c)are the same as the amendment made by subsection (a), then the amendments made by subsection

(a)shall become effective 30 days after the transmittal of the recommendations. ####

(2)If the recommendations described in subsection

(c)are different than the amendments made by subsection (a), the amendments made by subsection

(a)shall become effective 150 days after the transmittal of the recommendations unless otherwise provided by law. ####

(3)If the Judicial Conference fails to comply with subsection (c), the amendments made by subsection

(a)shall become effective 150 days after the date the recommendations were due under subsection

(c)unless otherwise provided by law. ###

(e)Application The amendments made by subsection

(a)shall apply to proceedings commenced on or after the effective date of such amendments. # TITLE XXXIII TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS