BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 838
Author: Beall (D), et al.
Amended: 8/18/14
Vote: 27
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/29/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: De León
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 5/28/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno,
Lieu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley,
Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Hancock, Liu, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/25/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Crimes: sex offenses: juvenile hearing
SOURCE : Santa Clara County District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill reduces confidentiality protections and
makes ineligible for deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) juveniles
who have committed or who are alleged to have committed
specified sex crimes involving an unconscious or disabled
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victim, as specified.
Assembly Amendments remove the mandatory two-year out of home
placement and the one-year sentence enhancement; and add a
requirement for a juvenile who commits specified sex crimes to
complete a sex offender treatment program as part of their
probation.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Makes it an offense for a person to willfully threaten to
commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily
injury to another person, with the specific intent that the
statement, made verbally, in writing, or by means of an
electronic communication device, is to be taken as a threat,
and causes that person reasonably to be in fear for his/her
own safety or for his/her immediate family's safety.
2.Makes it an offense for a person who uses a concealed
camcorder, motion picture camera, or photographic camera of
any type, to secretly videotape, film, photograph, or record
by electronic means, another, identifiable person who may be
in a state of full or partial undress, for the purpose of
viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by, that other
person, without the consent or knowledge of that other person,
in any area in which that other person has a reasonable
expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the privacy
of that other person.
3.Provides that any person under 18 years of age who commits a
crime is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, except
as specified.
4.Enumerates certain crimes for which a minor 14 years of age or
older may be prosecuted under the general law in a court of
criminal jurisdiction.
5.States, as amended by Proposition 21, an initiative statute
approved by the voters at the March 7, 2000 primary election,
juvenile court hearings are closed to the public, except for
juvenile court hearings alleging the commission of specified
felonies. The Legislature may amend Proposition 21 by a
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statute passed in each house by a 2/3-vote.
6.Sets forth a list of 30 offense categories, commonly referred
to as "707(b) offenses," which carry a number of consequences
in terms of how a minor and his/her alleged criminal act is
handled in the juvenile system, including remand to adult
criminal court, as specified.
This bill:
1.Adds to the list of felonies, to which the public may be
admitted for the juvenile court proceedings, certain sex
offenses accomplished because the person is prevented from
resisting due to being rendered unconscious by any
intoxicating, anesthetizing, or controlled substance, or when
the victim is at the time incapable, because of a disability,
of giving consent, and this is known or reasonably should be
known to the person committing the offense.
2.Requires the court, in cases where a minor is adjudged or
continued as a ward of the court for the commission of certain
sex offenses, to order the minor to complete a sex offender
treatment program, if the court determines, in consultation
with the county probation officer, that suitable programs are
available.
3.Provides, in determining what type of treatment is
appropriate, the court shall consider specified factors and
any other relevant information presented.
4.States if ordered by the court to complete a sex offender
treatment program, the minor shall pay all or a portion of the
reasonable costs of the sex offender treatment program after a
determination is made if the ability of the minor to pay.
5.Prohibits eligibility for DEJ minors charged with specified
sex offenses where the victim was prevented from resisting due
to being rendered unconscious by any intoxicating,
anesthetizing, or controlled substance, or when the victim was
at the time incapable, because of mental disorder or
developmental or physical disability, of giving consent, and
that was known or reasonably should have been known to the
minor at the time of the offense.
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6.States that this bill shall be known, and may be cited as,
Audrie's Law.
Background
This bill is the direct result of the tragic death of Audrie
Pott, a 15-year-old Saratoga High student who committed suicide
after she was sexually assaulted while unconscious and photos of
her were disseminated electronically. Her assailants were tried
as juveniles. The allegations against them were sustained and
they handed down sentences of 30 to 45 days, news reports said.
Despite the severity of their crimes, they are freed from having
to register sex offenders due to an omission in the law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, unknown,
likely minor, potentially in excess of $1 million statewide,
local costs to require juvenile sex offenders to complete a sex
offender treatment program, to the extent suitable programs are
available and offenders are unable to pay.
Unknown, likely minor state and local incarceration and
probation costs to the extent additional offenders are excluded
from DEJ.
Unknown, likely minor state trial court administrative costs for
opening additional juvenile cases to the public.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/14)
Santa Clara County District Attorney (source)
American Association of University Women-California
Association of Regional Center Agencies
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association, Inc.
California Protective Parents Association
Counseling and Support Services for Youth
Crime Victims United of California
The Arc California
The United Cerebral Palsy California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/14)
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California Public Defenders Association
Youth Law Center
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Senate Bill 838 is the direct result of the tragic death of
Audrie Pott, a 15-year-old Saratoga High student who committed
suicide after she was sexually assaulted while unconscious and
photos of her were disseminated electronically. The
perpetrators, according to news reports, were tried as
juveniles and the allegations against them were sustained, and
released after serving 30- to 45-day sentences. They are free
to continue their lives, education, and careers in anonymity
thanks to outdated laws after publically destroying a young
women's life.
The incidents surrounding Audrie's death are not isolated but
reflect a disturbing trend. Her case is eerily similar to the
suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old student in Canada,
who suffered nearly two years of bullying as photos of her sex
assault were circulated by students, and the photographed rape
of an unconscious 16-year-old girl by two high school football
players in Steubenville, Ohio. It should be noted that the
identities of the convicted football players, both 16, were
released by the juvenile court.
The nature of the crimes against Audrie, coupled with the
growing use of social media to bully victims, demands that our
statutes and codes be amended to reflect the severity of these
offenses in the 21st century to not only give justice but to
act as a deterrent.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Youth Law Center writes:
While it is very good that S.B. 838 no longer includes the
original provisions
expanding transfer to adult court, adding new crimes that
would disproportionately affect juveniles, and mandatory
minimum terms of confinement, the provisions that are still in
the bill are objectionable and not in keeping with our mission
and values.
The provision of S.B. 838 that would open juvenile cases to
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the public in cases involving certain sex offenses ignores the
very reason we have a separate juvenile court system. Unlike
the adult criminal system, where punishment is the stated
purpose, our juvenile court law requires individualized "care,
treatment and guidance" in which punishment is permitted, but
the overarching purpose is rehabilitation of the young person.
The expansion of open proceedings for juveniles is
antithetical to those goals. Moreover, the specific expansion
of open proceedings for sex offenses is troubling. Cases
involving alleged sex offenses invariably involve a great deal
of sensitive information and should not automatically be open
to the public.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/25/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
JG:k 8/26/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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