BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1004
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chai
AB 1004 (Gray) - As Amended: March 21, 2014
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Makes technological updates to procedures related to
the judicial issuance of an arrest warrant. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Allows an oath in support of a declaration of probable cause
for arrest to be made using a telephone and computer server.
2)Provides that the declarant's signature may be in the form of
an electronic signature.
3)Allows the magistrate to subsequently print the warrant,
supporting affidavit, and attachments if received by
electronic mail or computer server.
4)Allows the magistrate to sign an arrest warrant using a
digital signature or electronic signature if electronic mail
or computer server is used for transmission to the magistrate.
5)Authorizes a signed arrest warrant to be transmitted by a
computer server to the declarant.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that when a declaration of probable cause is made be a
peace officer of this state, the magistrate, if, and only if,
satisfied from the declaration that there exists probable
cause that the offense described in the declaration has been
committed and that the defendant described therein has
committed the offense, shall issue a warrant of probable cause
for the arrest of the defendant. The declaration in support
of the warrant of probable cause for arrest shall be a sworn
statement in writing. [Penal Code Section 817(a) and (b).]
2)Provides that in lieu of the written declaration, the
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magistrate may take an oral statement under oath under either
of the following conditions:
a) The oath shall be made under penalty of perjury and
recorded and transcribed. The transcribed statement shall
be deemed to be the declaration for the purposes of this
section, the recording of the sworn oral statement and the
transcribed statement shall be certified by the magistrate
receiving it and shall be filed with the clerk of the
court. In the alternative, the sworn oral statement may be
recorded by a certified court reporter who shall certify
the transcript of the statement, after which the magistrate
receiving it shall certify the transcript which shall be
filed with the clerk of the court.
b) The oath is made using telephone and facsimile
transmission equipment, or made using telephone and
electronic mail, under all of the following conditions:
i) The oath is made during a telephone conversation
with the magistrate, after which the declarant shall sign
his or her declaration in support of the warrant of
probable cause for arrest. The declarant's signature
shall be in the form of a digital signature if electronic
mail is used for transmission to the magistrate. The
proposed warrant and all supporting declarations and
attachments shall then be transmitted to the magistrate
utilizing facsimile transmission equipment or electronic
mail.
ii) The magistrate shall confirm with the declarant the
receipt of the warrant and the supporting declarations
and attachments. The magistrate shall verify that all
the pages sent have been received, that all pages are
legible, and that the declarant's signature or, digital
signature, is acknowledged as genuine.
iii) If the magistrate decides to issue the warrant, he
or she shall:
(1) Cause the warrant, supporting affidavit, and
attachments to be printed if received by electronic
mail.
(2) Sign the warrant.
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(3) Note on the warrant the exact date and time of
the issuance of the warrant.
(4) Indicate on the warrant that the oath of the
declarant was administered orally over the telephone.
The completed warrant, as signed by the magistrate,
shall be deemed to be the original warrant. [Penal
Code Section 817(c).]
3)Requires the magistrate to transmit via facsimile transmission
equipment or via electronic mail, the signed warrant to the
declarant who shall telephonically acknowledge its receipt.
The magistrate shall then telephonically authorize the
declarant to write the words "duplicate original" on the copy
of the completed warrant transmitted to the declarant and this
document shall be deemed to be a duplicate original warrant.
[Penal Code Section 817(c)(2)(D).]
4)Provides that before issuing a warrant of probable cause for
arrest, the magistrate may examine under oath the person
seeking the warrant and any witness the person may produce,
take the written declaration of the person or witness, and
cause the person or witness to subscribe the declaration.
[Penal Code Section 817(d).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Although law
enforcement can submit arrest warrants to judges via email,
law requires a magistrate's physical signature in order to
authorize the warrant. AB 1004 allows magistrates signatures
on arrest warrants to be in the form of a digital or
electronic signature. The bill removes an unnecessary
impediment to the criminal justice system by updating statute
to take advantages of modern technologies. By expediting the
ability of law enforcement to obtain arrest warrants, police
officers will be able to do their jobs quickly and efficiently
without hindrances resulting from delays in paperwork. AB
1004 embraces established technologies to modernize court
operations.
"In 2011, the Legislature authorized AB 2505 (Strickland Ch. 98,
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Stats. 2010) to amend Section 1526 of the Penal code to allow
judges' signatures on search warrants to be in digital or
electronic form. AB 2505 has established the foundation which
AB 1004 will build upon."
2)Argument in Support : The Judicial Council of California
believes, "This bill would streamline the process for
obtaining signatures on arrest warrants by amending Section
817 of the Penal Code to permit arrest warrants to be
submitted not only be email,, but also by computer server, and
would permit magistrates to sign arrest warrants digitally or
electronically. By making the process for obtaining
magistrates signatures on arrest warrants more efficient, this
change will not only bring cost savings to court, but also to
cities and counties, because law enforcement will no longer be
required to travel to court, or if outside of regualr business
hours, to a magistrate's home to obtain a signature on an
arrest warrant. Allowing affiants and magistrates to utilize
e-mail is a secure alternative method of transmission and
signing of arrest warrants that will give law enforcement the
flexibility and rapidity to more effectively respond to crime
in the modern world.
3)Prior Legislation : AB 2505 (Strickland), Chapter 98, Statutes
of 2010, authorized a magistrate to receive an affidavit and
other documents in support of the issuance of a search warrant
by a computer server, and allowed a search warrant to be
signed by a magistrate digitally or electronically.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Judicial Council of California (Sponsor)
California district Attorneys Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
AB 1004
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