BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 618 (Leno) - Wrongful convictions.
Amended: April 15, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 13, 2013 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 618 would 1) streamline and clarify the process
for compensating persons who have been exonerated after serving
time in prison, as specified, 2) extend eligibility for
compensation to individuals exonerated after being incarcerated
in county jail pursuant to realigned felony offenses, 3) delete
a provision in existing law prohibiting compensation where the
claimant contributed to his or her conviction, as specified,
and, 4) extend the time limit for filing a claim with the Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board (board) for a wrongful
conviction and imprisonment to two years from release from
custody, as defined.
Fiscal Impact:
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 would result in compensation being provided sooner
than otherwise would occur under existing law, and, 2) claims
would be paid to persons currently ineligible for compensation
under existing law. Annual costs would vary based on the
number of claims filed that would 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 would also be an offsetting potential increase
in AG workload resulting from the establishment of the 60-day
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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 Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (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 the bill, as well as the potential increase in
claims submitted for review under the expanded eligibility
criteria and extended filing period.
Background: Existing law 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
or she was charged either did not occur; or if it did occur, was
not committed by him or 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 board for the pecuniary injury sustained
through the wrongful conviction and imprisonment. (Penal Code
(PC) § 4900)
Under existing law, the claimant is required to introduce
evidence in support of his or her claim at a hearing before the
board, and the Attorney General (AG) may introduce evidence in
opposition. The claimant must prove the fact that the crime with
which he or she was charged was either not committed at all, or
if committed, was not committed by him or her, and the pecuniary
injury sustained through his or her erroneous conviction and
imprisonment.
A claim under PC § 4900 must be presented by the claimant to the
board within two years after judgment of acquittal or discharge
given, after pardon granted, or after release from imprisonment.
Upon approval of a claim by the board, the board recommends to
the Legislature that an appropriation be made and a claim for
compensation paid pursuant to a calculation by the board based
on the duration of the unlawful incarceration. The current
indemnification rate of $100 per day of incarceration subsequent
to the defendant's conviction was established in 2002.
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Proposed Law: This bill streamlines and clarifies the process
for compensating exonorees, as follows:
Provides that an unlawfully imprisoned or restrained
person (exonoree) shall be entitled to a recommendation by
the board for compensation without a hearing under the
following circumstances: 1) a court in a habeas corpus
proceeding or a motion to vacate a judgment finds that the
evidence unerringly points to the innocence of the
exonoree, 2) a court issues a certificate of factual
innocence following a hearing, or, 3) a court issues a
certificate of innocence upon the stipulation by the
prosecutor.
Provides that where the district attorney or AG
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 at the hearing, and the AG.
Provides that factual findings of the court, including
witness credibility determinations, made in considering a
petition for habeas corpus or motion to vacate a judgment
shall be binding on the board, the fact finder, and the AG.
Provides that an innocent person who has served an
executed felony sentence in a jail pursuant to PC § 1170(h)
may be entitled to compensation.
Provides that the AG shall have 60 days to respond to a
claim for compensation filed with the board, with
extensions of time for good cause.
Includes executed felony jail terms in the method for
calculating the statute of limitations for bringing a claim
for compensation.
Provides that a person who committed fraud or
obstruction of justice in relation to a conviction shall
not be entitled to compensation.
Strikes a provision in existing law prohibiting
compensation where the claimant contributed to his or her
conviction, including a plea of guilty or admission that
was not involuntary.
Extends the time period for filing a claim with the
board to within two years after release from custody, and
defines "release from custody" as release from imprisonment
from state prison or county jail when there is no
subsequent parole or postrelease jurisdiction, or when
there is a parole or postrelease period, when that period
ends.
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Related Legislation: AB 316 (Solorio) Chapter 432/2009 extended
the statute of limitations for malpractice actions against an
attorney to two years after the plaintiff achieves
post-conviction exoneration in a case in which the plaintiff is
required to show factual innocence as an element of his or her
malpractice claim and revised various procedures of the VCGCB.
Staff Comments: By streamlining the process for compensation,
the provisions of this bill could result in appropriations for
compensation for persons wrongfully convicted and imprisoned
sooner than otherwise would occur under existing law. In
addition, by extending the filing period to two years after a
person is released from "custody," as well as deleting the
provision prohibiting compensation to a claimant who contributed
to his or her conviction, as specified, this bill may result in
a modest increase in the number of claims submitted and
subsequently paid.
The provisions of this bill also extend eligibility for
compensation to individuals exonerated after being incarcerated
in county jail pursuant to realigned felony offenses. If not for
the state's decision to implement the 2011 Public Safety
Realignment in October 2011, these individuals would have
otherwise been eligible for compensation, and this change will
enable these individuals to pursue relief that they otherwise
would have been entitled to under existing law prior to
realignment.
Existing law provides a two-year time limit after release from
imprisonment for an individual who was subsequently found
factually innocent to file a claim with the board. This bill
would extend the time limit to two years after "release from
custody," which would result in a delay of the two-year filing
window until any period of parole or postrelease supervision, if
applicable, has been completed.
Over 120 individuals from California are listed on the National
Registry of Exonerations. Of the 87 claims that have come
before the board since 2001, 26 claimants are also listed on the
National Registry. Of those 26 claimants, only nine individuals
have been awarded compensation. It is unknown how many current
and future exonerees will be impacted by the provisions of this
bill, but expanding eligibility and the filing timeline, as well
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as streamlining the process of review through the elimination of
board hearings in cases of unerring or factual innocence,
establishment of the 60-day AG response period, and the
allowance for deference to factual findings of the court could
result in additional compensation payments of a significant
amount to exonerees in any one year. The current indemnification
amount of $100 per day was established in 2002, and since that
time, 10 cases have been approved, ranging in amount from
$17,000 to $757,000, with an average compensation of $354,000.
The provisions of this bill will have an unknown net impact on
AG workload. To the extent a small number of claims meeting the
high standard of unerring or factual innocence do not require AG
analysis, or court-determined facts do not need to be
re-litigated at board hearings, there would be some degree of AG
workload relief. Conversely, 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 could result in increased
AG counsel time spent on these claims. 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.
Likewise, there would be a potential reduction in workload to
the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (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 the bill, as well as the
potential increase in claims submitted for review under the
expanded eligibility criteria and extended filing period.
Notwithstanding the net workload impact on the courts, the AG,
and the board, the provisions of this bill will serve to allow
wrongfully convicted and unlawfully imprisoned individuals the
compensation they deserve in a more timely manner.