BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1250|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1250
Author: Perea (D)
Amended: 4/18/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/4/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/25/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Privileged communications: official information:
identity informer
SOURCE : California Crime Stoppers Association
Central Valley Crime Stoppers
Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers Program
DIGEST : This bill clarifies that the informant privilege
applies to communications between people who call crime stopper
organizations for the purpose of transmittal of that information
to law enforcement.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that all relevant evidence is admissible unless it
is made inadmissible by some constitutional or statutory
provision.
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2. States that the Right to Truth-in-Evidence constitutional
amendment as relevant evidence shall not be excluded in any
criminal proceeding, including pre-trial and post-trial
conviction motions and hearing, or in any trial or hearing of
a juvenile for a criminal offense, whether heard in juvenile
or adult court.
3. Provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial
jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have
been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him/her; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his/her favor, and to have the Assistance of
Counsel for his/ her defense.
4. Provides that a public entity has a privilege to refuse to
disclose the identity of an informer if disclosure is against
the public interest because there is a need to preserve the
confidentiality of the informer's identity that outweighs the
need for disclosure to the parties to the action. This
applies only if the information is furnished in confidence by
the informer to:
A. A law enforcement officer.
B. A representative of an administrative agency charged
with the administration or enforcement of the law
alleged to be violated.
C. Any person for the purpose of transmittal to a law
enforcement officer or representative of an
administrative agency.
There is no privilege to prevent the informer from
disclosing his/her identity.
5. States that a married person has a privilege not to testify
against his/her spouse in a criminal or civil action,
irrespective of whether the spouse is a party to the action.
6. Provides that a person, whether a party to an action or not,
who is married or who was formerly married to a particular
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spouse, has the privilege to refuse to disclose, and to
prevent another, including an eavesdropper, from disclosing a
confidential communication between the person and the spouse
while they were married.
7. States that a patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose,
and to prevent another from disclosing confidential
communication between patient and physician.
8. Provides that a patient has the privilege to refuse to
disclose, and to prevent another person from disclosing a
confidential communication between the patient and a
psychotherapist.
9. States that a penitent has a privilege to refuse to disclose
and to prevent disclosure of a confidential communication
between the penitent and their cleric.
10.Provides that a client has a privilege to refuse to disclose
and prevent another from disclosing a confidential
communication between the client and a lawyer.
This bill:
1. Provides that "any person for the purpose of transmittal to a
law enforcement officer" includes a volunteer or employee of
a crime stopper organization.
2. Provides that the privilege, pertaining to disclosing his/her
identity, described shall not be construed to prevent the
informer from disclosing his/her identity.
3. Provides that "crime stopper organization" means a private,
nonprofit organization that accepts and expands donations
used to reward persons who report to the organization
information concerning the alleged criminal activity, and
forward the information to the appropriate law enforcement
agency.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/4/13)
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California Crime Stoppers Association (co-source)
Central Valley Crime Stoppers (co-source)
Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers Program (co-source)
Agri-Valley Irrigation, Inc.
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California State Sheriffs' Association
Central Valley Community Bank
Fresno County Sheriff
Fresno Deputy Sheriff's Association
Fresno Police Department
Fresno Police Officers' Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Madera County Sheriff
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
For the past 30 years, Crime Stoppers has become the most
successful organization to help solve and fight crimes by
providing helpful information or tips to law enforcement
officials on an anonymous basis. The promise of anonymity
is a necessity for all informants as well as law
enforcement. Crime stopper organizations have adopted a
policy of not taking people's names when the call is made,
however, occasionally a person may reveal his or her name or
reveal other identifying information such as "my ex-husband
Joe" or "I saw my neighbor." Crime Stoppers are concerned
that they could be forced to reveal such identifying
information. Revealing such information would defeat the
purpose of their organization, which is to allow people to
call in "tips" anonymously and therefore without concern
that they may face retaliation.
AB 1250 expands the definition of "any person" in Evidence
Code Section 1041 to include "any volunteer or Crime-stopper
organization" so that any tip information provided to Crime
stoppers or any private, non-profit volunteer which is
forwarded to a law enforcement agency will be covered by the
privilege. As a result, both the "tip" itself and all
records or documents of the tip would be protected under the
privilege.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/25/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lowenthal, Nazarian, Vacancy
JG:d 6/4/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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