Senator Dave Min announces new law to grant free access to evidence for domestic violence survivors
Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) today announced that Senate Bill (SB) 290, “Domestic Violence Documentation: Victim Access,” was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. The first of two bills introduced as part of Min’s domestic violence legislative package this year, the new law modernizes the Access to Domestic Violence Reports Act of 1999 to allow domestic violence survivors to more easily access the evidence they need to try to obtain court-ordered legal protections. SB 290 eliminates the fees associated with digital recordkeeping, including 911 recordings and photographs of injuries, property damage, or other abuse, that have been passed along to crime victims since 1999.
“Until now, DV survivors have had to pay for the evidence they need to seek legal protections from their abusers, often at exorbitant costs they cannot afford,” said Senator Dave Min. “In the digital era, where storing and accessing digital records is inexpensive, it is outrageous that we continue to propagate this unnecessary barrier to the safety of survivors. SB 290 will allow more DV survivors to seek and receive the protection measures that will keep them safe. I’d like to thank the Governor for signing this lifesaving bill into law. I’d also like to thank humanitarian and filmmaker Angelina Jolie for her early and poignant support of our bill.”
An early supporter of the bill, Angelina Jolie states, “I was compelled to support this bill because of the urgent importance of ensuring abuse survivors have timely access to evidence of abuse.”
In a letter of support submitted to the Legislature, Jolie also stated, “Corroborating evidence helps validate abuse experiences and increases access to trauma care and the likelihood of legal protection. Beyond the government’s decision of whether to criminally charge and prosecute crimes, abuse survivors need records of the abuse they or their children experienced to advocate for health and trauma care and for safety protections in legal realms including in family court systems.”
SB 290 is widely supported by leading advocacy organizations, and the new law applies to domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, stalking, and elder and dependent abuse survivors.
“Given the overwhelming financial obstacles most abuse survivors experience, being charged hundreds of dollars to receive proof of their own abuse–such as pictures of bodily injuries and recordings of their calls to 911 for help–has added injury and created barriers to safety. SB 290 remedies this by giving abuse survivors timely and free access to their evidence,” said Professor Jane Stoever, Director of UCI Law’s Domestic Violence Clinic, an original sponsor of the legislation.
Justice related costs are some of the most common costs for victims. Female victims pay over $1,000 after they petition courts for protection. The estimated lifetime costs of abuse—including the costs of court, health problems, and lost productivity—are $103,767 for women and $23,414 for men. Importantly, estimates do not include lost earnings, medical costs, housing or other immediate needs not eligible by victim support services.
