BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2124
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2124 (Lowenthal)
As Amended March 28, 2014
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 5-2
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Jones-Sawyer, |
| |Quirk, Skinner, Stone |
| | |
|-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Hagman, Waldron |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes a judge, at his or her discretion, to defer
sentencing a defendant who has submitted a plea of guilty or
nolo contendere for a period not to exceed 24 months and to
order the defendant to comply with terms, conditions, and
programs, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides if the defendant, during the period of deferral,
complies with all terms, conditions, and programs required by
the court, then, the judge shall, at the end of the period,
strike the defendant's plea and dismiss the action against the
defendant.
2)States upon successful completion of the terms, conditions, or
programs ordered by the court, the arrest upon which
sentencing was deferred shall be deemed to have never occurred
and the defendant may indicate in response to any question
concerning his or her prior criminal record that he or she was
not arrested or granted deferred entry of judgment for the
offense, except as specified.
3)States that a record pertaining to an arrest resulting in
successful completion of the terms, conditions, or programs
ordered by the court shall not, without the defendant's
consent, be used in any way that could result in the denial of
any employment, benefit, license, or certificate.
4)Requires a defendant to be advised that, regardless of his or
her successful completion of the terms, conditions, or
programs ordered by the court pursuant to this chapter, the
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arrest upon which the judgment was deferred may be disclosed
by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in response to any peace
officer application request and that, notwithstanding these
provisions, he or she is not relieved of the obligation to
disclose the arrest in response to a direct question contained
in a questionnaire or application for a position as a peace
officer.
5)Provides if, during the period of deferral, the defendant
reoffends or fails to comply with the terms, conditions, or
programs required by the court, then the court shall make a
motion for entry of judgment and shall sentence the defendant
as if deferral had not occurred.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that the entry of judgment may be deferred with
respect to a defendant charged with specific controlled
substance offenses if they meet specific criteria, including
no prior convictions for any offense involving a controlled
substance and have had no prior felony convictions within five
years.
2)Provides that upon successful completion of a deferred entry
of judgment, the arrest upon which the judgment was deferred
shall be deemed to never have occurred. The defendant may in
response to any question in regard to his or her prior
criminal record that he or she was not arrested or granted
deferred entry of judgment, except as specified.
3)Provides that the district attorney of each county shall
review annually any diversion program adopted by the county,
and no program shall continue without the approval of the
district attorney. No person shall be diverted under a
program unless it has been approved by the district attorney.
Nothing in this subdivision shall authorize the prosecutor to
determine whether a particular defendant shall be diverted.
4)States, notwithstanding any other provision of law, this
chapter shall become operative in a county only if the board
of supervisors adopts the provisions of this chapter by
ordinance.
5)Provides that the district attorney of each county shall
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review annually any diversion program established pursuant to
this chapter, and no program shall continue without the
approval of the district attorney. No person shall be
diverted under a program unless it has been approved by the
district attorney. Nothing in this subdivision shall
authorize the prosecutor to determine whether a particular
defendant shall be diverted.
6)States that it is the intent of the Legislature that these
provisions of law shall not be construed to preempt other
current or future pretrial or pre-complaint diversion
programs. It is also the intent of the Legislature that
current or future post trial diversion programs not be
preempted, except as provided.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "A prosecutor has the sole
discretion to charge a defendant with a crime, and existing
misdemeanor diversion programs are largely authorized and
administered at the discretion of a prosecuting attorney.
However, the court arguably has equal discretion to issue a
sentence once a plea has been entered or a verdict rendered.
"In line with this precedent, AB 2124 provides courts with
explicit authority to defer sentencing of a defendant who has
pled guilty or "no contest" to a misdemeanor. Upon deferral, a
defendant must comply with any terms, conditions or programs
required by the court. Defendants who successfully fulfill all
court mandated obligations would have their plea and the action
against them stricken from the record. Defendants who fail to
comply would be sentenced as if deferral had not occurred.
"AB 2124 has the potential to spare appropriately selected
offenders the stigma of a criminal record. Like diversion
programs, alternative sentencing as provided for in AB 2124 can
save state and local governments substantial sums of money and
help free up jurors from having to serve on comparatively
inconsequential trials."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill
AB 2124
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Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0003198