HB5666 Engrossed

LRB096 18106 RLC 33481 b





  
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    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
  
 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
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    Section 5. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is 
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amended  by changing Section 115-16 as follows:
 



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    (725 ILCS 5/115-16)



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    Sec. 115-16. Witness disqualification. No person shall
be 
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disqualified as a witness in a
criminal case or proceeding by 
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reason of his or her interest in the event of
the case or 
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proceeding, as a party or otherwise, or by reason of
his or her 
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having been convicted of a crime; but the
interest or 
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conviction may be shown for the purpose of affecting the

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credibility of the witness. A defendant in
a criminal case or 
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proceeding shall only at his or her own request
be deemed a 
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competent witness, and the person's neglect to testify shall 
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not
create a presumption against the person, nor shall the 
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court permit
a reference or comment to be made to or upon that

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neglect.

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    In criminal cases, husband and wife may testify for or 
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against each
other. Neither, however, may testify as to any

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communication or admission
made by either of them to the other 
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or as to any conversation between them
during marriage, except 
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in cases in which either is charged with
an offense against the 
 


 






HB5666 Engrossed
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LRB096 18106 RLC 33481 b




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person or property of the other, in case of
spouse abandonment, 
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when the interests of their child or
children or of any child 
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or children in either spouse's care, custody, or
control are 
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directly involved, when either is charged with or under 
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investigation for an offense under Section 12-13,
12-14, 
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12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 and the 
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victim is a minor under 18 years of age in
either spouse's 
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care, custody, or control at the time of the offense, or
as to 
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matters in which either has acted as agent of the other. 

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(Source: P.A. 89-234, eff. 1-1-96; 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 
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89-462, eff.
5-29-96.)

 
 
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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.