BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 378
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 11, 2013
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 378 (Block) - As Amended: April 2, 2013
SUMMARY : Makes admissible an electronically digitized copy of
an official record of conviction for the same purposes as the
official record. Defines an "electronically digitized copy" as
a copy that is made by scanning, photographing, or otherwise
exactly reproducing a document, stored or maintained in a
digitized format, and bears an electronic signature or watermark
unique to the entity responsible for certifying the document.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, on and after July 1, 1997, each clerk of the
superior court to prospectively certify and submit those court
records specified by the Judicial Council which relate to
criminal convictions for entry into a computer system operated
by the Department of Justice that can be accessed by
authorized agents of any district attorney or other state
prosecuting agency. (Government Code Section 69844.5.)
2)Provides that an official certified record of conviction is
admissible to prove the commission, attempted commission, or
solicitation of a criminal offense, prior conviction, service
of a prison term, or other act, condition, or event recorded
by the record. [Penal Code Section 452.5(b).]
3)Defines the "hearsay evidence" as evidence of a statement that
was made other than by a witness while testifying at the
hearing and that is offered to prove the truth of the matter
stated, and further provides that hearsay evidence is
inadmissible, except as provided by law. (Penal Code Section
1200.)
4)Specifies that evidence of a writing made as a record of an
act, condition, or event is not made inadmissible by the
hearsay rule when offered in any civil or criminal proceeding
to prove the act, condition, or event if all of the following
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applies:
a) The writing was made by and within the scope of duty of
a public employee;
b) The writing was made at or near the time of the act,
condition, or event; and,
c) The sources of information and method and time of
preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness.
(Penal Code Section 1280.)
5)Provides that a seal is presumed to be genuine and its use
authorized if it purports to be the seal of the United States
or a department, agency or public employee of the United
States, and other specified entities. (Penal Code Section
1452.)
6)Provides that a signature is presumed to be genuine and
authorized if it purports to be the signature, affixed in his
official capacity, of a public employee of the United States;
a public employee of any public entity in the United States;
or a notary public within any state of the United States.
(Penal Code Section 1453.)
7)States that a purported copy of a writing in the custody of a
public entity, or of an entry in such a writing, is prima
facie evidence of the existence and content of such writing or
entry if the copy meets one of the specified requirements.
(Penal Code Section 1530.)
8)States that for the purpose of evidence, whenever a copy of a
writing is attested or certified, the attestation or
certificate must state in substance that the copy is a correct
copy of the original, or of a specified part thereof, as the
case may be. (Penal Code Section 1531.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Prosecutors
need court-certified copies of prior convictions in many
cases, both to verify that charges are to be brought, and then
to prove those charges at trial. These court-certified copies
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are taking longer to receive, despite the statutorily mandated
time for bringing charged defendants to hearing. Court staff
budget cuts make the processing of these requests onerous and
time-consuming, as well as expensive.
"SB 378 will authorize the use of electronically digitized
copies of prior convictions as admissible evidence to the same
extent as the original record or a certified copy. This bill
will result in cost savings and will decrease the processing
time due to the increased efficiency and speed with which
items can be digitally scanned and emailed."
2)Hearsay Rule and Admissibility of Documents and Records : The
Evidence Code generally governs the admissibility of evidence
in civil and criminal proceedings including the admissibility
of documents and records. The hearsay rule states that
"evidence of a statement that was made other than by a witness
while testifying at the hearing and that is offered to prove
the truth of the matter stated" is inadmissible except as
otherwise provided by law. (Evidence Code Section 1200.) The
Evidence Code creates a number of exceptions to the hearsay
rule for documents and records that are produced by a public
entity. The idea is that these documents are trustworthy:
"A long-established hearsay exception makes admissible the
statement of a public official, provided the official was
under a duty to make it and it was based on facts within the
official's personal knowledge. The regular practice of the
public office and the official duty make the statement
trustworthy, and public functions could not be conveniently
performed if officers and deputies were constantly called as
witnesses to testify to the matters covered by official
statements." [See 2 McCormick 6th, Section 295; 5 Wigmore
(Chadbourn Rev.) Section 1630 et seq.; 80 A.L.R.3d 414
(admissibility of public record in absence of express
statutory authorization); 29A Am.Jur.2d (2008 ed.); (Evidence
Section 1296); (1 Witkin Cal. Evid. Hearsay Section 245).]
3)Evidence of Prior Convictions : An official certified record
of conviction is admissible to prove the commission, attempted
commission, or solicitation of a criminal offense, prior
conviction, service of a prison term, or other act, condition,
or event recorded by the record. [Penal Code Section
452.5(b).] Evidence of a prior conviction may be needed in
order to prove an element of the current offense or during
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sentencing as a sentence enhancement. In order to prove a
prior conviction, the prosecutor must rely on official records
which may include documents such as the trial transcript, the
preliminary hearing transcript, the defendant's guilty plea,
and any appellate record. If the prior comes from a different
jurisdiction, the prosecution can introduce certified copies
of court records, rap sheets, and preliminary hearing
transcripts. According to the sponsor of this bill, it has
been taking longer to obtain court certified copies of prior
convictions which can cause problems with the speedy trial
timelines in a criminal case.
4)Arguments in Support :
a) The Judicial Council of California (a co-sponsor of this
bill) writes, "At its April 26, 2013 meeting, the Judicial
Council voted to sponsor legislation to amend the Evidence
Code to authorize courts to prepare and pre-certify
electronic 'prior packets,' in a manner consistent with . .
. SB 378. With increased use of and reliance on electronic
data management and document storage, courts can save
significant money by preparing and certifying an electronic
'prior packet' file one time rather than incurring the
costs associated with producing and certifying multiple
hard copies. Thus, the council believes that SB 378 will
make courts more efficient and result in cost savings."
b) According to the County of San Diego , "Current state law
provides that an official record of a public entity is not
made inadmissible by the hearsay rule and further allows an
official record of conviction as admissible evidence under
the hearsay exception. SB 378 would further provide that
an electronic copy of specified records is admissible
evidence in court under the hearsay exception for the same
purposes as the official record.
"Prosecutors and public defenders need court-certified copies
of prior convictions in many cases, including for the
purpose of verifying that charges are to be brought and
providing those charges at trial. Cuts to court staff have
made the processing of these requests onerous and
time-consuming as well as expensive. By allowing
electronic copies of certain records to be included as
evidence as opposed to the official record, the proposed
law will save time and money."
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5)Prior Legislation : AB 1387 (Brulte), Chapter 642, Statutes of
1996, enacted the Criminal Convictions Record Act, authorizing
a court to take judicial notice of enumerated
computer-generated court records specified by the Judicial
Council which relate to criminal convictions, if certified by
the clerk of the recording court and authorized the admission
in evidence of these records to prove specified facts.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of San Mateo (Co-Sponsor)
Judicial Council of California (Co-Sponsor)
San Diego County District Attorney (Co-Sponsor)
California District Attorneys Association
California Judges Association
County of San Diego
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744