BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 618|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 618
Author: Leno (D), et al.
Amended: 4/15/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/23/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Wrongful convictions
SOURCE : California Innocence Project
DIGEST : This bill streamlines and provides clarity to the
process for compensating persons who have been exonerated after
serving time incarcerated.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that where a person has been arrested for a crime
but no accusatory pleading has been filed, he/she may
petition the arresting agency to destroy the arrest records.
2. The law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the
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arrest shall, upon a determination that the person is
factually innocent, seal its records and notify the
Department of Justice.
3. Provides that a finding of factual innocence and an order
for the sealing and destruction of records shall not be made
unless the court finds that no reasonable cause exists to
believe that the arrestee committed the offense for which the
arrest was made.
4. Provides that notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the governmental entity shall retain all biological material
for the period that any person remains incarcerated in
connection with the case, in a condition suitable for DNA
testing.
5. Includes procedures for the filing and hearing of a petition
for a writ of habeas corpus, which allows a person to
challenge his/her, incarceration or related restraint as
unlawful.
6. Describes specific grounds for a writ of habeas corpus,
including:
A. False evidence that was material or substantially
probative on the issue of guilt or punishment was
introduced against the person at a trial or hearing related
to the petitioner's incarceration.
B. A person entered a guilty plea based on false physical
evidence that the person entering the plea believed to be
true.
C. The specified grounds for a writ of habeas corpus do not
limit any other valid grounds for the writ or other
available remedies.
1. Provides that a person who is no longer unlawfully
imprisoned or restrained as a result of a criminal conviction
may file a motion to vacate the judgment, as specified.
2. Provides that any person who, having been convicted of a
crime and imprisoned in the state prison, is granted a pardon
by the Governor because the crime with which he/she was
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charged either did not occur; or if it did occur, was not
committed by him/her; or who is innocent of the charges for
either of the foregoing reasons, and who has served any part
of the term for which imprisoned may present a claim against
the State to the Victims Compensation and Government Claims
Board (board) for the pecuniary injury sustained through the
wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
3. Provides that any claim for pecuniary damage for wrongful
imprisonment shall be presented within six months after a
judgment of acquittal or release from imprisonment, and at
least four months prior to the next meeting of the
Legislature.
4. Provides the claimant shall introduce evidence in support of
his/her claim at a hearing before the board, and the Attorney
General may introduce evidence in opposition thereto. The
claimant must prove the fact that the crime with which he/she
was charged was either not committed at all, or if committed,
was not committed by him/her, the fact that he/she did not,
by any act or omission on his/her part, either intentionally
or negligently, contribute to the bringing about of his/her
arrest and conviction, and the pecuniary injury sustained by
him/her through his/her erroneous conviction and
imprisonment.
5. Provides a procedure for the appropriation for the purpose
of indemnifying the claimant for pecuniary injury at the rate
of $100 per day of incarceration subsequent to the
defendant's conviction.
This bill:
1.Provides that an unlawfully imprisoned person (exonoree) shall
be entitled to a recommendation by the board for compensation
without a hearing under the following circumstances:
A. A court in a habeas corpus proceeding finds that the
evidence unerringly points to the innocence of the
exonoree.
B. A court in a motion to vacate a judgment finds that the
evidence unerringly points to the innocence of the
exonoree.
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C. A court issues a certificate of innocence upon the
stipulation by the prosecutor.
D. A court issues a certificate of factual innocence
following a hearing.
1.Provides that where the district attorney or Attorney General
stipulates to or does not contest the factual basis for the
granting of a writ of habeas corpus or motion to vacate a
judgment, those facts shall be binding on the board, the fact
finder and the Attorney General.
2.Provides that factual findings, including witness credibility
determinations, made by a court in a hearing on a habeas
corpus petition or a motion to vacate a judgment shall be
binding on the board, the fact finder and the Attorney General
in a proceeding to consider a claim filed by a person who
alleges that he/she is entitled to compensation despite
his/her innocence.
3.Provides that an innocent person who has served an executed
felony sentence in a jail may be entitled to compensation.
The bill includes felony jail terms in the method for
calculating the statute of limitations for filing a claim.
4.Provides that the Attorney General shall have 60 days to
respond to a claim for compensation filed with the board, and
that extensions of time may be granted for good cause.
5.Strikes a provision in existing law denying compensation to
any person who contributed to his/her conviction, including
through a guilty plea or confession that was not legally
involuntary.
6.Provides that a person who committed fraud or obstruction of
justice in relation to a conviction shall not be entitled to
compensation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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Unknown, potential increase in General Fund
appropriations for payment of approved claims for
compensation to exonerees potentially in the hundreds of
thousands to millions of dollars in any one year to the
extent (1) the streamlined process will result in
compensation being provided sooner than otherwise would
occur under existing law, and, (2) claims will be paid to
persons currently ineligible for compensation under
existing law. Annual costs will vary based on the number
of claims filed that will be impacted by the streamlined
review process, expanded eligibility criteria and extended
filing timeline, as well as the duration of unlawful
imprisonment specific to each individual. Since 2002, 10
claims have been paid ranging in amount from $17,000 to
$757,000, with an average compensation of $354,000.
Potential reduction in Attorney General (AG) workload to
the extent a small number of claims meeting the high
standard of unerring or factual innocence do not require AG
analysis and court-determined facts do not need to be
re-litigated at board hearings.
There will also be an offsetting potential increase in
AG workload resulting from the establishment of the 60-day
response period to claims in conjunction with a potential
moderate increase in claims under the expanded eligibility
provisions and extended filing period. To the extent the
binding nature of facts determined in habeas corpus
proceedings or motions to vacate judgment prompt extended
litigation, could also increase AG costs.
Potential reduction in workload to the board to the
extent a reduced number of hearings are required under the
streamlined process, which could be offset in part by the
60-day response period established in this bill, as well as
the potential increase in claims submitted for review under
the expanded eligibility criteria and extended filing
period.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
California Innocence Project (source)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Amnesty International Group 597, San Diego
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Death Penalty Focus
Equal Justice Society
Friends Committee on Legislation
Innocence Project of Northern California at Santa Clara
University School of Law
Innocence Project of Southern California
John Van De Kamp, Chair, California Commission on the Fair
Administration
of Justice
San Diego Coalition of SAFE California
Southwestern Law School
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/13)
California District Attorneys Association
Crime Victims Action Alliance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Under our current system, an innocent person must go
through the intensely arduous task of proving their
innocence in a full court hearing by completely dismantling
the state's case. And then, he/she must start again from
scratch in a completely new and separate administrative
process - a process in which the innocence that he/she has
previously proven is ignored or discounted and the rules of
evidence of a trial court do not apply. It's like winning
a marathon, only to find that the prize for winning is to
run an ultra-marathon, at the end of which you are likely
to get nothing.
Inmates are often exonerated and released with much fanfare
and publicity. However, after their fifteen minutes of
fame are over, the exonerated are left with scars from
years of pain and frustration spent fighting a system that
often fails to acknowledge its mistakes and even more
rarely offers an apology. Although many of the exonerated
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possess unfathomable courage, determination, and heart,
they often lack the resources and skills to muster their
way unassisted through the labyrinth of requirements
necessary to see their compensation claim through.
SB 618 addresses this problem by creating a fair and
efficient review process that reduces a number of obstacles
that continue to prevent eligible exonerees from gaining
access to meaningful compensation for their unlawful
imprisonment.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California District Attorneys
Association states:
Though much of your bill speaks to situations where a
person has been found to be factually innocent of a crime,
there are other troubling provisions. First, the language
seems to indicate that facts found during a successful
habeas corpus proceeding or in a proceeding where a new
trial is granted would be binding upon the Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board in terms of making
a decision on compensation. As we read this, a finding by
a court in ordering a new trial (presumably one that casts
doubt on a person's guilt) would be binding upon the Board,
even if the person was convicted in the new trial. This
seems to indicate that a person could be compensated even
if he/she were ultimately convicted in the new proceeding.
Additionally, it is unclear why the statute of limitations
on bringing a claim should be extended. If the person is
out of physical custody, why should the two-year clock not
start until any post-release supervision has concluded?
Finally, removing the language that requires a claimant to
demonstrate that he/she did not contribute to his/her
arrest or conviction and replacing it with authority for
the Board to deny a claim based on a conviction for fraud
or obstruction of justice is problematic. Even if there is
a basis for such a charge, it may not ultimately be filed
if the underlying crime is a very serious one.
JG:ne 5/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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