Hate Crimes: State Statutes and Contacts: Alabama - California

This guide is meant to summarize state statutes relating to hate crimes.  In addition to the state statutes listed, there are relevant federal statutes:

•  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, H.R. 3355, Pub.L. 103–322, Sec. 280003 108 Stat. 1796, 2096 provides for enhanced sentencing for hate crimes, defined as "a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person." 
•  Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), 18 USC § 249
• For more on federal statutes, see Congressional Research Service Report R47060, Overview of Federal Hate Crime Laws    

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a reporting form for hate incidents.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association has resources including a reporting form for hate incidents and hate crimes toolkits in 25 languages.

Alison M. Smith and Cassandra L. Foley, State Statutes Governing Hate Crimes, Congressional Research Service Report RL33099 (Sept. 28, 2010) served as an invaluable resource for this guide.  

For UCLA Law users, Westlaw has a treatise on Hate Crimes Law by Zachary J. Wolfe  (login and password required).

State specific information from the federal Department of Justice (hate crimes home page).

The Movement Advancement Project maintains a list of which state hate crimes statutes include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hate Crimes laws:

• Ala.Code § 13A-5-13: Enhances penalties for a crime "the commission of which was shown beyond a reasonable doubt to have been motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability."
• Ala.Code § 13A-6-28: Felony to burn the cross or American flag with the intent to intimidate
• Ala. Code § 13A-11-12: Misdemeanor to desecrate "any public monument or structure or place of worship or burial."

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:

FBI Field Offices
FBI Birmingham
1000 18th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35203
Phone: (205) 326-6166

FBI Mobile
200 North Royal Street
Mobile, AL 36602
Phone: (251) 438-3674

State Attorney General’s Office
Office of the Attorney General
501 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone: 334-242-7300
 

Hate crimes laws:

• Alaska Stat. § 11.76.110: Misdemeanor if a person "injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates another person" to interfere with that person's exercise of Constitutional rights or because that person exercised such rights.
• Alaska Stat. § 12.55.155(c)(22): It is an aggravating factor if "the defendant knowingly directed the conduct constituting the offense at a victim because of that person's race, sex, color, creed, physical or mental disability, ancestry, or national origin."

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:

FBI Anchorage
101 East Sixth Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: (907) 276-4441

State Attorney General’s Office
Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811-0300
Phone: (907) 465-2133

Hate crimes laws:

• Ariz. Rev. Stat.  § 13-701 D.13 and D.15: It is an aggregating factor if the victim is over 65 or has a disability (D.13) or if " the defendant committed the crime out of malice toward a victim because of the victim's [race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability]" (D.15, cross referencing Ariz. Rev. Stat.  § 41-1750)
• Ariz. Rev. Stat.  § 13-1707: misdemeanor to burn a cross "with the intent to intimidate any person or group of persons."
• Ariz. Rev. Stat.  § 13-1708: misdemeanor to burn other symbols "with the intent to intimidate any person or group of persons."
• Ariz. Rev. Stat.  § 13-1604 A.1: "Defacing, damaging or in any way changing the appearance of any building, structure, personal property or place used for worship or any religious purpose" is aggravated criminal damage
• Ariz. Rev. Stat.  § 41-1750 A.3: Requires the state to "Collect information concerning criminal offenses that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability."

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:

FBI Field Office
FBI Phoenix
21711 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85024
Phone: (623) 466-1999

State Attorney General’s Offices
Office of the Attorney General

Phoenix Office
1275 West Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2926
Phone: (602) 542-5025

Tucson Office
400 West Congress
South Building, Suite 315
Tucson, AZ 85701-1367
Phone: (520) 628-6504

Prescott Office
1000 Ainsworth Dr.
Suite A-210
Prescott, AZ  86305
Phone: (928) 778-1265

Hate crimes laws:

• No criminal hate crimes statute, Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-106 does allow for civil relief for acts of intimidation, violence, or vandalism "where such acts are motivated by racial, religious, or ethnic animosity."
• Ark. Code Ann. § 5-38-301(a)(1)(E): Arson committed against a place of worship.
• Ark. Code Ann. § 5-71-207(a)(8): Misdemeanor disorderly conduct to "In a public place, mars, defiles, desecrates, or otherwise damages a patriotic or religious symbol that is an object of respect by the public or a substantial segment of the public"
• Ark. Code Ann. § 5-71-215: Misdemeanor to deface objects of public respect, including "any place of worship, cemetery, or burial monument"

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:

FBI Field Office
FBI Little Rock
24 Shackleford West Boulevard
Little Rock, AR 72211-3755
Phone: (501) 221-9100

State Attorney General’s Office + Other State Resources
Office of the Attorney General
323 Center Street, Suite 200
Little Rock AR 72201
Phone: (501) 682-2007

Crime Victims and Outreach Hotline  
Phone: (501) 682-1020
Phone (Toll-Free): (800) 448-3014

Hate crimes laws:

• Cal. Penal Code § 422.55: Defines hate crime as one "committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: (1) Disability.(2) Gender.(3) Nationality.(4) Race or ethnicity. (5) Religion. (6) Sexual orientation. (7) Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics."
• Cal. Penal Code § 422.6: Criminal conduct to "by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any [legal] right," because of the characteristics above
• Cal. Penal Code § 422.7: hate crime as aggravating factor for punishment
• Cal. Penal Code § 422.75: enhanced penalties for hate crimes
• Cal. Penal Code § 422.76: hate crime as aggravating factor for punishment in felonies
• Cal. Penal Code § 11411: Crime of terrorizing with various symbols, including a noose, Nazi symbols, or a burning cross
• Cal. Penal Code § 11412:  Crime of terrorizing by causing a person to refrain from practicing their religion due to threat
• Cal. Penal Code § 11413(b)(2): Crime of terroristic use of explosives or arson against places of worship
• Cal. Penal Code § 13023: Requires collection of data on hate crimes
• Cal. Penal Code § 13519.6: Requires training for law enforcement officers about hate crimes

Where to report hate crimes, in addition to local police:

FBI Field Offices
FBI Los Angeles
11000 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 1700
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Phone: (310) 477-6565

FBI San Diego
10385 Vista Sorrento Parkway
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: (858) 320-1800

FBI Sacramento
4500 Orange Grove
Sacramento, CA 95841
Phone: (916) 481-9110

FBI San Francisco
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102-9523
Phone: (415) 553-7400

State Attorney General’s Offices
Office of the Attorney General (Main Office)
California Attorney General’s Office
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550
Phone (Toll-Free): (877) 433-9069

Office of the Attorney General (Sacramento)
1300 “I” Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-2919
Phone: (916) 445-9555

Office of the Attorney General (San Francisco)
455 Golden Gate, Suite 11000
San Francisco, CA 94102-7004
Phone: (415) 703-5500

Office of the Attorney General (Oakland)
1515 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94612-1499
Phone: (510) 622-2100

Office of the Attorney General (Fresno)
2550 Mariposa Mall, Room 5090
Fresno, CA 93721-2271
Phone: (559) 477-1691

Office of the Attorney General (Los Angeles)
300 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013-1230
Phone: (213) 897-2000

Office of the Attorney General (San Diego)
110 West “A” Street, Suite 1100
San Diego, CA 92101-3702
Phone: (619) 645-2001