Sen. Bates and San Diego District Attorney renew effort to keep sex offender court hearings open to the public

SACRAMENTO – Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) announced Jan. 26 that she has reintroduced legislation in partnership with San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan to extend the presumption of openness that exists in California courtrooms to proceedings under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. They initiated a similar effort last year but had to put it on hold due to the Legislature’s focus on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senate Bill 248 would require that proceedings for the civil commitment of a sexually violent predator and subsequent hearings regarding his/her potentia...