BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 327|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 327
Author: Yee (D)
Amended: 4/2/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/9/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters
SUBJECT : Human trafficking: recall and resentencing:
pardons and parole
SOURCE : California Against Slavery
DIGEST : The bill allows a writ of habeas corpus when evidence
of human trafficking was not presented at trial and provides
that the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) will give great weight
to evidence that a prisoner is a victim of human trafficking.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides that every person unlawfully imprisoned or restrained
of his/her liberty, under any pretense whatever, may prosecute
a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the cause of such
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imprisonment or restraint.
2.Provides that a writ of habeas corpus may be brought on the
basis that competent and substantial expert testimony relating
to intimate partner battering and its effects, as defined, was
not received into evidence at the trial relating to the
prisoner's incarceration for a murder conviction, and was of
such substance that had it been received into evidence, there
is a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine
confidence in the judgment of conviction, that the result of
the proceedings would have been different.
3.Authorizes the BPH 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. Defines "intimate partner battering and its effects"
to 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 it appears the
criminal behavior was the result of that victimization.
4.Requires BPH, in reviewing a prisoner's suitability for parole
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
the offense prior to the enactment of Evidence Code Section
1107. The BPH shall state on the record the information or
evidence that it considered pursuant to this subdivision, and
the reasons for the parole decision.
This bill:
1.Extends the writ of habeas corpus to cases where competent and
substantial expert testimony relating to human trafficking 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.
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2.Provides that BPH shall include evidence that the prisoner was
a victim of human trafficking in a report on a commutation or
pardon to the Governor.
3.Provides that BPH shall also give great weight to evidence
that the prisoner was a victim of human trafficking at the
time of the offense.
Background
Habeas corpus is a process guaranteed by both the federal and
state constitutions to obtain prompt judicial relief from
illegal restraint. Existing law sets forth the functions of the
habeas corpus writ in Penal Code Section 1473(a): "Every person
unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of his or her liberty, under
any pretense whatever, may prosecute a writ of habeas corpus, to
inquire into the cause of such imprisonment or restraint." A
petition for writ of habeas corpus is important when new
evidence undermines the prosecution's case and indicates the
defendant's innocence.
Prior Legislation
AB 1593 (Ma, Chapter 809, Statutes of 2012) requires BPH, when
reviewing a inmate's suitability for parole, to give great
weight to any information or evidence that an inmate had
experienced intimate partner battering (IPB) at the time of the
offense, and provide that the fact that the inmate brought in
the evidence cannot be used to find that he/she lacks insight to
his/her crime.
AB 593 (Ma, Chapter 803, Statutes of 2012) deleted the January
1, 2020, repeal date on provisions of law that allow a writ of
habeas corpus to be prosecuted on the grounds that testimony
relating to IPB (formerly battered women's syndrome (BWS)) and
its effects was not presented during the trial court
proceedings, thereby affecting the outcome of the trial
SB 799 (Karnette, Chapter 858, Chapter 2001) provided women who
were convicted of homicide prior to the enactment of the
Evidence Code provision providing for the admissibility of
evidence relating to BWS to bring a writ of habeas corpus when
there was a reasonable probability that the result of the case
may have been different had evidence of BWS been admissible in
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the original trial.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Moderate increase in state trial court costs for evidentiary
hearings to the extent the provisions of this bill result in
additional filings. At $4,000 per day in state trial
court-related costs, if 20 inmates received a two-day
evidentiary hearing, the annual costs would be about $160,000
(General Fund* (GF)).
Increased state trial court costs to the extent evidence of
human trafficking results in new trials. Five new trials at a
cost of about $20,000 per week could exceed $300,000 (GF*).
Unknown, potential state incarceration savings to the extent
that inmates are released from state prison. For every inmate
released as a result of this bill, annual savings would be
about $10,275 (GF) assuming the inmates would otherwise not
have been released, with savings growing over time based on
the years the inmate would have otherwise served.
Increased workload to the BPH, potentially in excess of
$150,000 (GF) to conduct investigations to determine if an
inmate was the victim of human trafficking at the time of the
offense. Additional costs of $100,000 (GF) to the extent the
development of regulations are required.
To the extent additional emphasis on human trafficking results
in earlier parole dates, there would be ongoing GF savings of
$10,275 per inmate per year, with savings growing over time
based on the years the inmate would have otherwise served.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
California Against Slavery (source)
AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Alameda Family Services
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
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Canvass for a Cause
Church State Council
Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking
Convergence
Crisis House
Forces For Sara
Freedom From Exploitation
Generate Hope
I am SJK Campaign
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited
Youth
National Council of Jewish Women-California
Police Officers Research Association of California
San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
San Francisco Women's Political Committee
Survivors for Solutions
Two Worlds Connect
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/13)
California District Attorneys Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : California Attorneys for Criminal
Justice states:
Human Trafficking affects women, men and children in our state
every day and leaves devastating physical and emotional
effects on victims. Trafficked victims are subject to sexual
exploitation, abuse or are often times forced into
prostitution. In many cases, victims are required to use a
variety of controlled substances and develop drug abuse
problems that affect them for the rest of their lives. This
traumatic experience leaves victims with severe psychological
disorders including, depression, disorientation and emotional
disturbance. This bill will help protect individuals who have
committed a crime in response to being a victim of human
trafficking.
The writ of habeas corpus is a critical safeguard for
incarcerated individuals who may have been denied their
constitutional rights during trial. Like evidence regarding
intimate partner battering, the subject of prior amendments to
Penal Code section 1473.5, expert testimony regarding the
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impacts of human trafficking is a piece of evidence that could
be pivotal in a trial and withholding such evidence would
absolutely undercut the conviction.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California District Attorneys
Association states:
Existing law, Penal Code Section 1473, provides that every
person unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of his liberty,
under any pretense whatever, may prosecute a writ of habeas
corpus, to inquire into the cause of such imprisonment or
restraint. As such, this bill is unnecessary. Further, the
provision of law that SB 327 amends was created for a discrete
situation unique to the issue of IPB and was amended in the
wake of a statute and case law specifically allowing the
introduction of expert testimony on IPB, then known as
battered woman's syndrome. Proponents of this special writ
had identified a finite group of defendants who had been
convicted of serious offenses without the benefit of expert
testimony on IPB and its effects.
SB 327 attempts to shoehorn a solution in search of a problem
into an existing code section that bears little connection to
the issue you have identified.
SB 327 additionally gives a person who may have previously
filed an unsuccessful writ of habeas corpus based on human
trafficking the ability to use the same evidence to attempt
gain release from incarceration a second time via parole
proceedings. We feel it is inappropriate to direct BPH
operations legislatively by expressing a bias toward evidence
of human trafficking, especially if such evidence was
unconvincing to a court in a habeas proceeding.
The bottom line is that this bill is unnecessary and, in fact,
could foster the false notion that a person convicted of an
offense without the benefit of expert testimony of the
mitigating factor of being a human trafficking victim would
not be able to prosecute a writ of habeas corpus under
existing law.
JG:nk 5/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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