HB 2056 | Aggravated assault based on disability (Cody's Law)

Session: 2019-2020

ACLU-PA Position: Opposes

Known as “Cody’s Law,” HB 2056 (PN 2969) would amend Title 18 § 2702 to classify any attempt to cause or intentionally or knowingly cause bodily injury to an individual with a physical disability or intellectual disability as an aggravated assault, graded as a felony of the second degree. HB 2056 would eliminate the requirement to cause or attempt to cause “serious bodily injury” and allow prosecutors to charge an assault as aggravated whenever a simple assault is committed against a person with a physical or intellectual disability. In other words, it treats a simple assault as aggravated, increasing the penalties from up to 2 years in prison for a second-degree misdemeanor to up to 10 years for a second-degree felony.