BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 618
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 618 (Leno)
As Amended September 3, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :28-10
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Jones-Sawyer, Mitchell, | |Bradford, |
| |Quirk, Skinner, Waldron | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Streamlines the process for compensating persons who
have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted and
imprisoned. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides if a person has secured a declaration of factual
innocence from the court after having his or her conviction
set aside, the finding shall be sufficient grounds for payment
of compensation for a claim against the state to the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
(VCGCB).
2)States, upon application by the person, VCGCB shall, without a
hearing, recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation be
made and the claim paid.
3)Specifies that if the declaration of factual innocence is
granted pursuant to a stipulation of the prosecutor, VCGCB has
the duty to recommend to the Legislature payment of the claim
without a hearing.
4)Provides if the district attorney or Attorney General (AG)
stipulates to or does not contest the factual allegations
underlying one or more of the grounds for granting a writ of
habeas corpus or a motion to vacate a judgment, the facts
underlying the basis for the court's ruling or order shall be
binding on the AG, the factfinder, and VCGCB.
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5)Requires the district attorney to provide notice to the AG
prior to entering into a stipulation of facts that will be the
basis for granting of a writ of habeas corpus or a motion to
vacate a judgment.
6)States that the express factual findings made by the court,
including credibility determinations, in considering a
petition for habeas corpus, a motion to vacate judgment, or an
application for a certificate of factual innocence, shall be
binding on the AG, the factfinder, and VCGCB.
7)Specifies that "express factual findings" are findings
established as the basis for the court's ruling or order.
8)States in a contested proceeding, if the court grants a writ
of habeas corpus concerning a person who is unlawfully
imprisoned or restrained, or when the court vacates a judgment
for a person on the basis of newly discovered evidence
concerning a person who is no longer unlawfully imprisoned or
restrained, and if the court finds that new evidence on the
petition points unerringly to innocence, VCGCB shall, upon
application by the petitioner, without a hearing, recommend to
the Legislature that an appropriation be made and the claim
paid to the petitioner.
9)Specifies circumstances under which a petitioner may move for
a finding of innocence by a preponderance of the evidence 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 states that no presumption shall be made in any other
proceeding for failure to make a motion or obtain a favorable
ruling on the motion.
10)States that if the court makes a finding that the petitioner
has proven his or her innocence by a preponderance of the
evidence as specified, VCGCB shall, without a hearing,
recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation be made and
the claim paid to the petitioner.
11)Provides if a federal court, after granting a writ of habeas
corpus, pursuant to a non-statutory motion or request, finds a
petitioner innocent by no less than a preponderance of the
evidence that the crime with which he or she was charged was
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either not committed at all or, if committed, was not
committed by him or her, VCGCB shall, without a hearing,
recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation be made and
the claim paid.
12)Defines "new evidence" as evidence that was not available or
known at the time of trial that completely undermines the
prosecution case and points unerringly to innocence.
13)Authorizes a person incarcerated in county jail for a felony
conviction to file a claim to VCGCB for the pecuniary injury
sustained by him or her through his or her erroneous
conviction and imprisonment or incarceration.
14)Clarifies that the two-year statute of limitations for filing
a claim to VCGCB starts to toll after judgment of acquittal,
or after pardon granted, or after release from custody.
15)States that a claimant may not file a claim for compensation
until 60 days have passed since the date of reversal of
conviction or granting of the writ, or while the case is
pending upon an initial refiling, or until the complaint or
information has been dismissed no more than one time pursuant
to a dismissal.
16)Provides that if the claimant is a person has had his or her
conviction reversed in a habeas corpus proceeding or secured a
declaration of factual innocence, VCGCB shall, within 30 days
of the presentation of the claim, calculate the compensation
for the claimant and recommend to the Legislature payment of
that sum.
17)Specifies if the claimant is not a person who has had his or
her conviction reversed in a habeas corpus proceeding or
secured a declaration of factual innocence, the AG shall
respond to the claim within 60 days of the order, or request
an extension of time, upon a showing of good cause.
18)States upon receipt of a response from the AG, VCGCB shall
fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim, and shall
mail notice thereof to the claimant and to the AG and the
claimant at least 15 days prior to the time fixed for the
hearing. VCGCB shall use reasonable diligence in setting the
date for the hearing and shall attempt to set the date for the
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hearing at the earliest date convenient for the parties and
the board.
19)Provides if the time period for response elapses without a
request for an extension or a response from the AG, VCGCB
shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim, mail
notice to the claimant at least 15 days prior to the time
fixed for the hearing, and make a recommendation based on the
claimant's verified claim and any evidence presented by him or
her.
20)States in a hearing before VCGCB, the factual findings and
credibility determinations establishing the court's basis for
granting a writ of habeas corpus, a motion for a new trial, or
an application for a certificate of factual innocence shall be
binding on the AG, the factfinder, and VCGCB.
21)States that VCGCB shall deny payment of any claim if VCGCB
finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a claimant pled
guilty with specific intent to protect another from
prosecution for the underlying conviction for which the
claimant is seeking compensation.
22)Deletes the requirement under current law that the claimant
must introduce evidence to prove the fact that he or she did
not, by any act or omission, intentionally contribute to the
bringing about of his or her arrest or conviction for the
crime with which he or she was charged.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the judge to order that the records in a case be
sealed, including any record of arrest or detention, whenever
a person's conviction is set aside based upon a determination
that the person was factually innocent of the charge.
2)Provides that any person who, having been convicted of any
crime against the state amounting to a felony and imprisoned
in the state prison for that conviction, is granted a pardon
by the Governor for the reason 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, or who, being
innocent of the crime with which he or she was charged for
either of the foregoing reasons, shall have served the term or
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any part thereof for which he or she was imprisoned, may, as
specified, present a claim against the state to VCGCB for the
pecuniary injury sustained by him or her through the erroneous
conviction and imprisonment.
3)States that a VCGCB hearing, the claimant shall introduce
evidence in support of the claim, and the AG may introduce
evidence in opposition thereto. The claimant must prove the
facts set forth in the statement constituting the claim,
including the following:
a) 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;
b) The fact that he or she did not, by any act or omission
on his or her part, intentionally contribute to the
bringing about of his or her arrest or conviction for the
crime with which he or she was charged; and,
c) The pecuniary injury sustained by him or her through his
or her erroneous conviction and imprisonment.
4)States if the evidence proves all of the above, VCGCB shall
report the facts of the case and its conclusions to the
Legislature, with a recommendation that an appropriation be
made by the Legislature for the purpose of indemnifying the
claimant for the pecuniary injury. The amount of the
appropriation recommended shall be a sum equivalent to $100
per day of incarceration served subsequent to the claimant's
conviction and that appropriation shall not be treated as
gross income to the recipient under the Revenue and Taxation
Code.
5)Provides that a person no longer unlawfully imprisoned may
prosecute a motion to vacate judgment for newly discovered
evidence, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown, potentially significant, annual General Fund (GF)
costs to the extent streamlining the process for erroneous
conviction claims accelerates payment and increases the
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frequency of successful claims.
Since 2001, VCGCB has heard 62 erroneous conviction claims,
approving 11. The Legislature subsequently appropriated $3.5
million for 10 of the claims, based on the statutory $100 per
day of wrongful incarceration. (In 2007, a VCGCB-approved
claim for $74,600 failed to receive a 2/3 vote in the Senate.
The claimant had been convicted of rape and murder and it was
subsequently determined the murder conviction was erroneous.
This claimant ultimately prevailed - to a greater degree - in
civil court.) For order of magnitude purposes, based on the
past 12 years, if this bill increased the percentage of
successful claims heard by 30%, the annual cost increase would
be about $500,000.
2)Minor savings to the VCGCB as a result of potentially fewer
hearings, more than offset by the potential increase in
claims.
3) Unknown, potentially moderate GF net costs, potentially in
the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for increased Department
of Justice (DOJ) legal workload as a result of the required
60-day response to a claim when a claimant has not had a
conviction reversed or secured a declaration of factual
innocence. (DOJ could also request an extension.)
These costs would be offset to an unknown degree by reduced
workload in terms of cases that DOJ would no longer need to
review and process.
COMMENTS : 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 or she must start
again from scratch in a completely new and separate
administrative process - a process in which the innocence that
he or 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
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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 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.
"These changes will make the system:
a) "More efficient by accelerating the procedure for
resolving claims to provide meaningful, speedy relief to
innocent individuals trying to get back on their feet;
b) "Less expensive by saving taxpayer money spent on years
of costly litigation where innocence has already been
proven, and saving exonerees countless hours retrying their
case when the conviction has been overturned and their
release granted by a court;
c) "More streamlined by focusing the VCGCB's work on those
claims which are actually in need of evaluation, and
allowing automatic approval of claims where innocence has
already been proven;
d) "More consistent by ensuring the VCGCB's determinations
to grant or deny compensation claims are based on the same
facts and rules of evidence established by the court that
reversed the conviction, found them innocent, and granted
their release
"Although, we can never restore the years lost and the hardship
and human suffering perpetrated on the wrongfully convicted and
their families, at a minimum, we could at least process their
claims fairly and timely."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
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Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0002176