HB 25-1138

House Bill 25-1138, also known as "Protect Victims in Civil Sex Misconduct Suits," aims to strengthen protections for victims in civil cases involving sexual misconduct. The bill removes an existing exception that allowed evidence of a victim's past or future sexual conduct with the defendant to be admitted in court, and it further restricts the use of irrelevant personal details about the victim’s life as proof of consent or credibility. This means that defendants can no longer introduce evidence related to how a victim dresses, speaks, or lives their life to challenge the validity of their claims. The bill has been signed into law, meaning these protections are now in effect and will impact all civil sex misconduct cases moving forward.

Official Summary

Under current law, certain evidence of a victim's prior or subsequent sexual conduct is presumed irrelevant and inadmissible in a civil proceeding, but there is an exception for evidence of the victim's prior or subsequent sexual conduct with the defendant. The act eliminates this exception. The act prohibits the admission of evidence of the victim's manner of dress, hairstyle, mode or manner of speech, or lifestyle as evidence of the victim's consent, credibility, or the existence or extent of damages or harm. The party moving to admit evidence presumed irrelevant is required to raise the issue at a pretrial conference and make a prima facie showing that the evidence is relevant for an admissible reason and that discovery is likely to rebut the presumption of inadmissibility. The court is required to allow the nonmoving party to object. If the court allows discovery, the court must issue a protective order that limits the scope of discovery to relevant issues and protect against unwarranted, irrelevant, or overly broad discovery into the alleged victim's sexual conduct or history. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Votes