BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1004 Page 1 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 AB 1004 Page 2 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. AB 1004 Page 3 (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, AB 1004 Page 4 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 Page 5