Lee files Senate companion to Hamadeh's 'Kayleigh's Law'

Utah Sen. Mike Lee has introduced the Senate version of Arizona Rep. Abe Hamadeh's "Kayleigh's Law," a proposal to impose permanent no-contact orders for victims of sexual and violent crimes, according to the Arizona Daily Independent (ADI).

The bicameral bill, ADI reports, would require federal courts to issue lifetime no-contact orders at a victim's request against a convicted offender. The measure is named for Arizonan Kayleigh Kozak, who, per ADI, testified against her former soccer coach after he abused her in sixth grade.

If enacted, the order would bar any direct or indirect contact for life, even after prison, probation, or supervised release ends. That is the outcome supporters are chasing; for now, it is a proposal that must survive committee, floor votes, and the usual Washington gauntlet.

ADI says the bill applies to defendants convicted of a crime of violence or a felony with a sexual act or sexual conduct element. It would allow either prosecutors, with a victim's consent, or victims themselves to move at sentencing for a permanent ban on contact by written, oral, electronic, digital, or physical means.

Citing his experience as a former Arizona prosecutor, Hamadeh argued in April that courts too often fail victims and that lifetime injunctions should be mandatory at a victim's request during sentencing, ADI recounts. He framed the bill as ending a "legal tug-of-war" that forces survivors back to court to renew basic protections.

Lee, per ADI, said survivors should not be dissuaded from coming forward by fear of retaliation or further contact, pointing to Kozak's multiple court appearances in her case. Kozak is quoted by ADI as saying the harm from sexual assault is lifelong and that protections should match that reality.

ADI notes similar "Kayleigh's Law" policies have passed at the state level in Arizona and Wisconsin. The federal version would attempt to standardize that model nationwide. Results will depend on the bill clearing Congress and being signed, not simply introduced.

Arizona's delegation is well represented on the House version, ADI reports, with original cosponsors including Reps. Andy Biggs, Juan Ciscomani, Eli Crane, Paul Gosar, and David Schweikert, among others.

The ADI account emphasizes that the proposal would limit judicial discretion by making certain no-contact orders mandatory when victims or prosecutors seek them at sentencing. The report does not detail enforcement mechanisms for violations or how a lifetime federal order would interact with existing supervised release conditions and state protective-order regimes.

For Arizona victims and prosecutors, supporters quoted by ADI say a federal baseline could reduce repeat court trips to extend protections and close gaps when supervision ends. That promise will be tested only if Congress turns this week's filing into law.

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