BILL NUMBER: SB 327 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
FEBRUARY 19, 2013
An act to amend Section Sections
1473.5 and 4801 of the Penal Code, relating to human
trafficking.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 327, as amended, Yee. Human trafficking: recall and
resentencing. resentencing: pardons and parole.
Existing
(1) Existing law authorizes every
person who is unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of his or her
liberty to prosecute a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the
cause of that imprisonment or restraint.
Existing law provides that a writ of habeas corpus based on
intimate partner battering may be prosecuted if competent and
substantial expert testimony relating to intimate partner battering
and its effects was not presented to the trier of fact at the trial
court proceedings, and is of such substance that, had it been
presented, there is a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine
confidence in the judgment of conviction or sentence, the result of
the proceedings would have been different, and that the burden of
proof in this regard is on the petitioner.
This bill would make those provisions applicable to cases in which
competent and substantial expert testimony relating to human
trafficking, as defined, and its effects was not presented to the
trier of fact at the trial court proceedings and is of such substance
that, had the competent and substantial expert testimony been
presented, there is a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine
confidence in the judgment of conviction or sentence, that the
result of the proceedings would have been different.
(2) Existing law authorizes the Board of Parole Hearings to report
to the Governor, from time to time, the names of any and all persons
imprisoned in any state prison who, in its judgment, ought to have a
commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at liberty on account
of good conduct, or unusual term of sentence, or any other cause,
including evidence of intimate partner battering and its effects.
Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, one year prior to
an inmate's minimum eligible parole release date, to meet with the
inmate to review his or her suitability for parole. As part of this
review, existing law requires the board to give great weight to any
information or evidence that, at the time of the crime, the person
had experienced intimate partner battering, if that person was
convicted of an offense that occurred prior to August 29, 1996.
This bill would authorize the Board of Parole Hearings to report
to the Governor, from time to time, the names of any and all persons
imprisoned in any state prison who, in its judgment, ought to have a
commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at liberty on account
of evidence that the prisoner was a victim of human trafficking at
the time of the offense. The bill would also require, as part of the
review to determine a person's suitability for parole, the board to
give great weight to any information or evidence that the prisoner
was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1473.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
1473.5. (a) A writ of habeas corpus also may be prosecuted on the
basis that (1) competent and substantial expert testimony relating
to intimate partner battering and its effects, within the meaning of
Section 1107 of the Evidence Code, or (2) competent and substantial
expert testimony relating to human trafficking, as described in
Section 236.1, and its effects was not presented to the trier of fact
at the trial court proceedings and is of such substance that, had
the competent and substantial expert testimony been presented, there
is a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine confidence in
the judgment of conviction or sentence, that the result of the
proceedings would have been different. Sections 1260 to 1262,
inclusive, apply to the prosecution of a writ of habeas corpus
pursuant to this section. As used in this section, "trial court
proceedings" means those court proceedings that occur from the time
the accusatory pleading is filed until and including judgment and
sentence.
(b) This section is limited to (1) violent felonies as specified
in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 that were committed before August
29, 1996, and that resulted in judgments of conviction or sentence
after a plea or trial as to which expert testimony admissible
pursuant to Section 1107 of the Evidence Code may be probative on the
issue of culpability, or (2) cases in which the defendant is a
victim of human trafficking, as described in Section 236.1.
(c) A showing that expert testimony relating to intimate partner
battering and its effects or human trafficking and its effects was
presented to the trier of fact is not a bar to granting a petition
under this section if that expert testimony was not competent or
substantial. The burden of proof is on the petitioner to establish a
sufficient showing that competent and substantial expert testimony,
of a nature which would be competent using prevailing understanding
of intimate partner battering and its effects, or human trafficking
and its effects, was not presented to the trier of fact, and had that
evidence been presented, there is a reasonable probability that the
result of the proceedings would have been different.
(d) If a petitioner for habeas corpus under this section has
previously filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, it is grounds
for denial of the new petition if a court determined on the merits in
the prior petition that the omission of expert testimony at trial
relating to battered women's syndrome or intimate partner battering
and its effects or human trafficking and its effects was not
prejudicial and did not entitle the petitioner to the writ of habeas
corpus.
(e) For purposes of this section, the changes that become
effective on January 1, 2005, are not intended to expand the uses or
applicability of expert testimony on battering and its effects that
were in effect immediately prior to that date in criminal cases.
SEC. 2. Section 4801 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
4801. (a) The Board of Parole Hearings may report to the
Governor, from time to time, the names of any and all persons
imprisoned in any state prison who, in its judgment, ought to have a
commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at liberty on account
of good conduct, or unusual term of sentence, or any other cause,
including evidence of intimate partner battering and its effects
, or evidence that the person was a victim of human trafficking at
the time of the offense . For purposes of this section,
"intimate partner battering and its effects" may include evidence of
the nature and effects of physical, emotional, or mental abuse upon
the beliefs, perceptions, or behavior of victims of domestic violence
where if it appears the criminal
behavior was the result of that victimization.
(b) (1) The Board of Parole Hearings, in reviewing a prisoner's
suitability for parole pursuant to Section 3041.5, shall give great
weight to any information or evidence that, at the time of the
commission of the crime, the prisoner had experienced intimate
partner battering, but was convicted of an offense that occurred
prior to August 29, 1996 , or that the prisoner was a victim of
human trafficking at the time of the offense . The board shall
state on the record the information or evidence that it considered
pursuant to this subdivision, and the reasons for the parole
decision. The board shall annually report to the Legislature and the
Governor on the cases the board considered pursuant to this
subdivision during the previous year, including the board's decisions
and the specific and detailed findings of its investigations of
these cases.
(2) The report for the Legislature to be submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code.
(3) The fact that a prisoner has presented evidence of intimate
partner battering cannot be used to support a finding that the
prisoner lacks insight into his or her crime and its causes.