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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
lifetime injunction; undesignated offenses
Purpose
Requires a class 6 felony offense, before the offense has been designated as a felony or a misdemeanor by the court, to be treated as a felony for the purpose of issuing a lifetime injunction.
Background
If a person is convicted of a class 6 felony that does not involve a dangerous offense, the court may find it unduly harsh to sentence the defendant for a felony and may instead enter a judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor or place the defendant on probation and refrain from designating the offense as a felony or misdemeanor until probation is terminated. The offense must be treated as a misdemeanor for all purposes until the court enters an order designating the offense a misdemeanor or felony.
An offense, before designation as a felony or misdemeanor, must be treated as a felony conviction for the purposes of: 1) placing the defendant on felony probation; 2) DNA collection; 3) determining the defendant's right to possess a firearm; 4) being used as a historical prior felony conviction; 4) being admissible for impeachment purposes in a subsequent trial; and 5) being used to enhance sentencing (A.R.S. § 13-604)
A lifetime injunction is an order of the court that prohibits the defendant from contacting the victim and is valid for the duration of the defendant's natural lifetime (A.R.S. § 13-719).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires a class 6 felony offense, before the offense has been designated as a felony or a misdemeanor by the court, to be treated as a felony for the purpose of issuing a lifetime injunction.
2. Specifies that a conviction's designation as a misdemeanor does not affect the validity of a lifetime injunction and does not prohibit a victim from requesting a lifetime injunction.
3. Makes technical changes.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 10, 2025
ZD/AW/ci