Bill
SB 6227
Gives courts power to issue standalone no-contact orders for NGRI defendants under supervision, protecting victims with victim notice and law-enforcement entry.
Allowing entry of a civil protection order to protect victims when a person is found not guilty by reason of insanity
Status and key dates
- Chapter enacted by Governor: 3/15/2024.
- Effective date: 6/6/2024.
- Introduced: 1/15/2024. Passed both chambers and enrolled as Substitute SB 6227.
Purpose / intent
- Close a gap that left victims unprotected after a defendant is acquitted by reason of insanity (NGRI). The bill authorizes courts to issue a standalone, enforceable no-contact order when a person found NGRI is committed for inpatient treatment or placed on conditional release, and to ensure law enforcement statewide is notified and able to enforce the order.
Background (brief)
- Under current Washington law, a defendant found NGRI may be civilly committed or placed on conditional release while the court retains jurisdiction. Previously, no-contact or protective conditions tied only to criminal proceedings could lapse after an NGRI acquittal, leaving victims without the same protections available in ordinary criminal cases.
Key provisions — what the bill does
- Authority to issue no-contact orders: When an NGRI defendant is committed or placed on conditional release — or on application by the prosecuting attorney while the court retains supervision — the court may enter a separate, standalone no-contact order to protect any victim of the defendant’s conduct.
- Term: The order may run up to the defendant’s maximum term of commitment or until final release under RCW 10.77.200, whichever is sooner.
- Notice to victim: The clerk must provide a written certified copy of the no-contact order to the victim.
- Required content: The order must state that violation is a criminal offense under chapter 7.105 RCW, subjects the violator to arrest, and that assault, drive-by shooting, or reckless endangerment that violates the order constitutes a felony.
- Criminal penalties: Willful violation of restraint/exclusion provisions is a gross misdemeanor and may also trigger contempt sanctions. A violation that involves assault or reckless endangerment, or where the violator has two prior convictions for violations of protection/no-contact/restraining orders, is a class C felony.
- Law enforcement entry: When the order is issued, modified, or terminated, the clerk must forward a copy to the law enforcement agency specified on or before the next judicial day. That agency must enter the order into the state computer-based criminal intelligence system used to list outstanding warrants (entry lasts one year or until the order’s expiration). Removal must occur when the order terminates.
- Victim definition: For purposes of the section, “victim” is defined as in RCW 9.94A.030.
- Non-substantive relocation: Language about evaluating NGRI defendants for developmental disability is moved to a new statutory section without substantive change.
Who is affected / impact
- Victims of offenses where the defendant is later found NGRI — they gain access to enforceable no-contact protection without having to pursue a separate civil protection order.
- Courts and clerks — new processes for issuing standalone no-contact orders, providing certified copies to victims, and forwarding orders to law enforcement promptly.
- Law enforcement — obligation to enter and remove such orders in the statewide computer-based system.
- Defendants found NGRI — subject to standalone no-contact orders while under court supervision; violations carry criminal penalties.
Fiscal / appropriation
- No appropriation; fiscal note not requested.
Practical effect
- The bill remedies a recognized enforcement loophole by creating a mechanism for standalone, enforceable victim protection orders tied to the court’s ongoing supervision of NGRI defendants and by ensuring statewide law enforcement notice and enforcement ability.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
