AN ORDINANCE relating to the criminal code, amending Sections 12A.06.030, 12A.06.035, 12A.06.040, 12A.06.090, 12A.06.115, 12A.08.050, 12A.14.071, 12A.14.075, 12A.14.083 and 12A.24.150, adding a Section to Chapter 12A.06 and repealing Section 12A.02.120 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 12A.06.030 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843 12A.04.050, as last amended by Ordinance 116872 8), is further amended to read as follows:

12A.06.030 Menacing.

A. A person is guilty of menacing when by a present threat to another person subsequent to a history of threats or violence between himself or herself and such other person, he or she intentionally causes or attempts to cause such other person reasonably to fear serious bodily injury or death.

B. As used in this section, "threat" means to communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent to cause bodily injury in the future to another has the meaning specified in Section 12A.08.050 L1.

C. As used in this section, "history of threats or violence" means one (1) or more of the following:

1. Two (2) or more threats; or

2. One (1) or more assaults as defined in Section 12A.06.010.

Section 2. Section 12A.06.035 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 116872 9, as last amended by Ordinance 117158 1) is further amended to read as follows:

12A.06.035 Stalking.

A. A person is guilty of stalking when, without lawful authority:

1. He or she intentionally and repeatedly harasses or follows another person; and

2. The person being harassed or followed is placed in fear that the stalker intends to injure that person, another person, or property of the person or of another person; and

3. A reasonable person in the same situation and under the same circumstances as the person being harassed or followed would feel fear that the stalker intends to injure the person, another person, or property of that person or of another person; and

4. The stalker either:

a. Intends to intimidate, harass or frighten the person; or

b. Knows or reasonably should know that the person is intimidated, harassed or afraid.

B. It is not a defense to the crime of stalking:

1. Under subsection A4a of this section that the stalker was not given actual notice that the person did not want the stalker to contact or follow that person;

2. Under subsection A4b of this section that the stalker did not intend to intimidate, harass or frighten the person.

C. It is an affirmative defense to the crime of stalking that the defendant is a licensed private detective acting within the capacity of his or her license as provided by Chapter 18.165 RCW.

D. Attempts to contact or follow the person after being given actual notice that such person does not want to be contacted or followed constitutes prima facie evidence that the stalker intends to intimidate, harass or frighten such person.

E. As used in this section:

1. "Follows" means deliberately maintaining visual or physical proximity to a specific person over a period of time. A finding that the alleged stalker repeatedly and deliberately appears at the person's home, school, place of employment, business, or any other location to maintain visual or physical proximity to the person is sufficient to find that the alleged stalker follows the person. It is not necessary to establish that the alleged stalker follows the person while in transit from one (1) location to another.

2. "Harasses" means to engage in an act directed at a specific person which seriously alarms, annoys, harasses, or is detrimental to such person, and which serves no legitimate or lawful purpose. This act shall be such as would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and shall actually cause substantial emotional distress to the person, or, when the act is contact by a person over age eighteen (18), that would cause a reasonable parent to fear for the well-being of their child unlawful harassment as defined in SMC Section 12A.06.040.

3. "Repeatedly" means on two (2) or more separate occasions.

F. Stalking is a gross misdemeanor.

Section 3. Section 12A.06.040 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843 12A.04.070, as last amended by Ordinance 112465 1) is further amended as follows:

12A.06.040 Harassment.

A. A person is guilty of harassment if:

1. With the intent to annoy or alarm another person he/she repeatedly uses fighting words or obscene language, thereby creating a substantial risk of assault; or

2. Without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens:

a. To cause bodily injury immediately or in the future to the person threatened or to any other person; or

b. To cause physical damage to the property of a person other than the actor; or

c. To subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint; or

d. Maliciously to do any other act which is intended to substantially harm the person threatened or another with respect to his or her physical or mental health or safety; and

e. The person by words or conduct places the person threatened in reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out.

B. When any defendant charged with a crime of involving harassment is released from custody before trial on or bail or personal recognizance, the court authorizing the release may require that the defendant:

1. Stay away from the home, school, business, or place of employment of the victim or victims of the alleged offense or other location, as shall be specifically named by the court in the order;

2. Refrain from contacting, intimidating, threatening, or otherwise interfering with the victim or victims of the alleged offense and such other persons, including but not limited to members of the family or household of the victim, as shall be specifically named by the court in the order.

C. The court shall determine the necessity for imposing a no-contact order or other conditions of pre-trial release. The Seattle Police Department and Seattle Municipal Court may enforce this section as it relates to orders restricting the defendant's ability to have contact with the victims or others. The victim shall be informed by local law enforcement agencies or the prosecuting attorney of the final disposition of the case in which the victim is involved. If a defendant is found guilty of a crime of harassment and a condition of the sentence restricts the defendant's ability to have contact with the victim or witnesses, the condition shall be recorded and a written certified copy of that order shall be provided to the victim or witnesses by the clerk of the court. Wilful violation of a court order issued under this section, or of an order issued by any court of competent jurisdiction under an equivalent statute or ordinance, is a misdemeanor. The written order shall contain the court's directives and shall bear the legend: "Violation of this order is criminal offense under SMC 12A.06.040 12A.06.030 and will subject a violator to arrest."

D. For purposes of subsections B and C of this section, "a crime of harassment" includes any crime defined in Chapter 12A.06, property destruction as defined in Section 12A.08.020, and criminal trespass as defined in Section 12A.08.040.

Section 4. Section 12A.06.090 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843 12A.04.170) is amended to read as follows:

12A.06.090 Coercion.

A. A person is guilty of coercion if by use of a threat he compels or induces a person to engage in conduct which the latter has a legal right to abstain from, or to abstain from conduct which he has a legal right to engage in.

B. "Threat" as used in this section means to communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent:

1. To communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent immediately to use force against any person who is present at the time; or

2. To cause bodily injury in the future to another;

3. To cause damage to property of another; or

4. To subject another person to physical confinement or restraint Threats as defined in Section 12A.08.050 L.

Section 5. Section 12A.06.115 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 111714 1) is amended to read as follows:

12A.06.115 Malicious harassment.

A. A person is guilty of malicious harassment if he or she maliciously and intentionally commits one (1) of the following acts with the intent to intimidate or harass another person because of his or her perception of another that person's sexual orientation, gender, marital status, political ideology, age, or parental status:

1. Causes physical injury to another person; or

2. By threat places another person in reasonable fear of harm to his or her person or property or harm to the person or property of a third person, provided however, that it shall not constitute malicious harassment for a person to speak or act in a critical, insulting, or deprecatory way so long as his or her words or conduct do not constitute a threat of harm to the person or property of another person; or

3. Causes physical damage to or the destruction of the property of another person.

B. "Threat" means to communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent to:

1. Cause bodily injury to another; or

2. Cause damage to the property of another; or

3. Subject another person to physical confinement or restraint.

C. "Sexual orientation" includes heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality.

D. Every person who, in the commission of malicious harassment, shall commit any other crime, may be punished therefor as well as for the malicious harassment, and may be prosecuted for each crime separately.

Section 6. Chapter 12A.06 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843, as amended) is further amended by adding the following section:

12A.06.310 Restraining orders -Notice -Refusal to comply -Arrest -Penalty - Defense -Peace officers, immunity.

A. Whenever a restraining order is issued under RCW Chapter 26.09, and the person to be restrained knows of the order, a violation of the provisions restricting the person from acts or threats of violence or of a provision restraining the person from going onto the grounds of or entering the residence, workplace, school, or day care of another is a misdemeanor.

B. A person is deemed to know of a restraining order if:

1. The person to be restrained or the person's attorney signed the order;

2. The order recites that the person to be restrained or the person's attorney appeared in person before the court;

3. The order was served upon the person to be restrained; or

4. The peace officer gives the person oral or written evidence of the order by reading from it or handing to the person a certified copy of the original order, certified to be an accurate copy of the original by a notary public or by the clerk of the court.

C. A peace officer shall verify the existence of a restraining order by:

1. Obtaining information confirming the existence and terms of the order from a law enforcement agency; or

2. Obtaining a certified copy of the order, certified to be an accurate copy of the original by a notary public or by the clerk of the court.

D. A peace officer shall arrest and take into custody, pending release on bail, personal recognizance, or court order, a person without a warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe that:

1. A restraining order has been issued under RCW Chapter 26.09;

2. The respondent or person to be restrained knows of the order; and

3. The person to be arrested has violated the terms of the order restraining the person from acts or threats of violence or restraining the person from going onto the grounds of or entering the residence, workplace, school, or day care of another.

E. It is a defense to prosecution under subsection A of this section that the court order was issued contrary to law or court rule.

F. No peace officer may be held criminally or civilly liable for making an arrest under subsection D of this section if the officer acts in good faith and without malice.

Section 7. Section 12A.08.050 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843 12A.08.210) is amended to read as follows:

12A.08.050 Definitions applicable to Sections 12A.08.060 through 12A.08.100.

The following definitions are applicable in Sections 12A.08.060 through 12A.08.100 unless the context otherwise requires:

A. "Credit card" means any instrument or device, whether incomplete, revoked or expired, whether known as a credit card, credit plate, charge plate, courtesy card, or by any other name, issued with or without fee for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value, including satisfaction of a debt or the payment of a check drawn by a cardholder, either on credit or in consideration of an undertaking or guaranty by the issuer.

B. "Deception" occurs when an actor knowingly:

1. Creates or confirms another's false impression which the actor does not believe to be true; or

2. Fails to correct another's false impression which the actor previously has created or confirmed; or

3. Prevents another from acquiring information material to the disposition of the property involved; or

4. Transfers or encumbers property without disclosing a lien, adverse claim, or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the property, whether that impediment is or is not valid, or is or is not a matter of official record; or

5. Promises performance which the actor does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed; or

6. Uses a credit card:

a. Without authorization, or

b. Which he knows to be stolen, forged, revoked or cancelled.

The term "deception" does not include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance.

C. "Obtain" means:

1. In relation to property, to bring about a transfer or purported transfer to the obtainer or another of a legally recognized interest in the property; or

2. In relation to labor or service, to secure performance thereof for the benefit of the obtainer or another.

D. "Obtains or exerts unauthorized control" over property includes but is not necessarily limited to conduct heretofore defined or known as common law larceny by trespassory taking, common law larceny by trick, larceny by conversion, embezzlement, extortion, or obtaining property by false pretenses.

E. "Owner" means a person, other than the actor, who has possession of or any other interest in the property involved, and without whose consent the actor has no authority to exert control over the property.

F. (( "Permanently to deprive" means:

1. To withhold property or cause it to be withheld from a person permanently or for so extended a period or under such circumstances that the major portion of its economic value, or of the use and benefit of such property, is lost to him; or

2. To dispose of the property so as to make it unlikely that the owner will recover it; or

3. To retain the property with intent to restore it to the owner only if the owner purchases or leases it back, or pays a reward or other compensation for its return; or

4. To encumber, sell, give, pledge, or otherwise transfer any interest in the property.

G. "Property" means any money, credit card, personal property, real property, thing in action, evidence of debt or contract, public record, or article of value of any kind.

G. H. "Receiving" includes but is not limited to acquiring title, possession, control, or a security interest in the property.

H. I. "Service" includes but is not limited to labor, professional service, transportation service, the supplying of hotel accommodations, restaurant services, entertainment, the supplying of equipment for use, and the supplying of commodities of a public utility nature such as gas, electricity, steam and water.

I. J. "Steal" means:

1. To knowingly obtain or exert unauthorized control over the property of another with intent permanently to deprive him of such property; or

2. To knowingly obtain by deception control over property of another with intent permanently to deprive him of such property.

J. K. "Stolen" means obtained by theft, robbery, extortion, or appropriating lost or misdelivered property.

L. "Threat" means to communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent:

1. To cause bodily injury in the future to another; or

2. To cause damage to property of another; or

3. To subject another person to physical confinement or restraint; or

4. To accuse another person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against another person; or

5. To expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true or false, tending to subject another person to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or

6. To reveal significant information sought to be concealed by the person threatened; or

7. To testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or

8. To take wrongful action as an official against anyone or anything, or wrongfully withhold official action, or cause such action or withholding; or

9. To bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other similar collective action with the intent to obtain property which is not demanded or received for the benefit of the group which the actor purports to represent; or

10. To do any other act which is intended to harm substantially any person with respect to his health, safety, business, financial condition, or personal relationships.

Section 8. Section 12A.14.071 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 117157 3) is amended to read as follows:

12A.14.071 Discharge of a firearm.

A person is guilty of discharge of a firearm if he or she willfully discharges a firearm in a place where there is a reasonable likelihood that humans, domestic animals or property will be jeopardized.

Section 9. Section 12A.14.075 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 110179 1, as last amended by Ordinance 117157 4) is further amended to read as follows:

12A.14.075 Unlawful use of weapons to intimidate another.

A. A person is guilty of unlawful use of weapons to intimidate another if he or she carries, exhibits, displays or draws a dangerous knife, any knife with a blade that is open for use or a deadly weapon other than a firearm in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place that either manifests an intent to intimidate another person or warrants alarm for the safety of other persons.

B. Subsection A of this section shall not apply to or affect the following:

1. Any person who by virtue of his or her office or public employment is vested by law with a duty to preserve public safety, maintain public order, or make arrests for offenses, while in the performance of such duty;

2. Any person acting for the purpose of protecting himself or herself against the use of presently threatened unlawful force by another, or for the purpose of protecting another against the use of presently threatened unlawful force by a third person;

3. Any person making or assisting in making a lawful arrest for the commission of a felony; or

4. Any person engaged in military activities sponsored by the federal or state governments; or

5. Any act committed by a person while in his or her place of abode or fixed place of business.

C. A person convicted of unlawful use of weapons to intimidate another shall lose his or her concealed pistol license, if any, and the court shall send notice of the conviction to the Washington State Department of Licensing and the city, town or county which issued the license.

Section 10. Section 12A.14.083 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 90047 42, as last amended by Ordinance 117569 123) is further amended to read as follows:

12A.14.083 Weapons in public places.

It is unlawful to knowingly carry or shoot any spring gun, air gun, sling or slingshot, in, upon, or onto any public place.

Section 11. Section 12A.24.150 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843 12A.40.260, as last amended by Ordinance 115897 3) is further amended to read as follows:

12A.24.150 Classification and penalty.

A. An offense under Sections 12A.24.050, 12A.24.110, 12A.24.120, or 12A.24.130 is designated a violation and punishment therefor shall be as provided in Section 12A.02.080.

B. An offense under Sections 12A.24.080 and 12A.24.090 and subsection 12A.24.100 A is designated a gross misdemeanor.

C. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be punished, upon the first such conviction, by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment for not more than two (2) months or by both such fine and imprisonment, upon a second such conviction, by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months and, upon a third or subsequent such conviction, by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year. If the person convicted is a corporation, it shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).

Section 12. Section 12A.02.120 of the Seattle Municipal Code (Ordinance 102843 12A.01.110) is repealed.

Section 13. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days from and after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten (10) days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the _____ day of ____________, 1998, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________, 1998.

_____________________________________

President _______ of the City Council

Approved by me this _____ day of _________________, 1998.

___________________________________________

Mayor

Filed by me this _____ day of ____________________, 1998.

___________________________________________

City Clerk

(Seal)

RG: RG April 22, 1998 98CRIM.DOC (Ver. )