BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 267
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
267 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended April 16, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+----------------------+---------------------|
|Public Safety |6-0 |Quirk, Gonzalez, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, | |
| | |Low, Santiago | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the court, prior to the acceptance of a guilty
plea to a felony offense, to inform the defendant of the various
consequences that may result from conviction of a felony.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the court, prior to the acceptance of a guilty plea or
a plea of nolo contendere to a felony offense, to inform the
defendant of the various consequences that may result from the
conviction of a felony, including, but not limited to the
following:
a) Experiencing difficulty in obtaining employment generally,
and prohibited from employment in certain jobs;
b) The loss of voting rights while incarcerated and during
parole;
c) Ineligibility for enlisting in the military;
d) The loss of certain professional licenses, or the loss of
the ability to obtain certain professional licenses;
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e) Ineligibility for serving on a jury;
f) Ineligibility to own or possess a firearm;
g) Ineligibility for federal health care programs if the
felony is related to fraud involving a federal program,
patient abuse, or drugs;
h) Loss of federal financial aid if the felony was committed
while the defendant was receiving financial aid;
i) Foreign travel restrictions;
j) Restrictions on receiving Supplemental Security Income;
and,
aa) Potential diminished parental and child custody rights.
2)States the with respect to a plea accepted prior to January 1,
2016, it is not the intent of the Legislature that a court's
failure to provide the advisement required by the above
provision should require the vacation of judgment and withdrawal
of the plea or constitute grounds for finding a prior conviction
invalid.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, prior to acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo
contendere to any offense punishable as a crime under state law,
the court shall administer the following advisement on the
record to the defendant: "[i]f you are not a citizen, you are
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hereby advised that conviction of the offense for which you have
been charged may have the consequences of deportation, exclusion
from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization
pursuant to the laws of the United States."
2)States that upon request, the court shall allow the defendant
additional time to consider the appropriateness of the plea in
light of the advisement as described in this section.
3)Provides if the court fails to advise the defendant as required
by this section and the defendant shows that conviction of the
offense to which defendant pleaded guilty or nolo contendere may
have the consequences for the defendant of deportation,
exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of
naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States, the
court, on defendant's motion, shall vacate the judgment and
permit the defendant to withdraw the plea of guilty or nolo
contendere, and enter a plea of not guilty.
4)States that absent a record that the court provided the
advisement required by this section, the defendant shall be
presumed not to have received the required advisement.
5)Provides that with respect to pleas entered prior to January 1,
1978, it is not the intent of the Legislature that a court's
failure to provide the required advisement should require the
vacation of judgment and withdrawal of the plea or constitute
grounds for finding a prior conviction invalid.
6)Finds and declares that in many instances involving an
individual who is not a citizen of the United States charged
with an offense punishable as a crime under state law, a plea of
guilty or nolo contendere is entered without the defendant
knowing that a conviction of such offense is grounds for
deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or
denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United
States. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature in
enacting this section to promote fairness to such accused
individuals by requiring in such cases that acceptance of a
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guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere be preceded by an
appropriate warning of the special consequences for such a
defendant which may result from the plea. It is also the intent
of the Legislature that the court in such cases shall grant the
defendant a reasonable amount of time to negotiate with the
prosecuting agency in the event the defendant or the defendant's
counsel was unaware of the possibility of deportation, exclusion
from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization
as a result of conviction. It is further the intent of the
Legislature that at the time of the plea no defendant shall be
required to disclose his or her legal status to the court.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Currently, upon arrest,
police officers are required to inform a suspect of their Miranda
rights, which is a 'right to silence' warning given by police to
criminal suspects in police custody. This bill, similarly, will
inform defendants verbally of the civil rights they lose if they
take a plea and become a felon. These rights range from a loss of
certain professional licensure opportunities or ineligibility for
becoming a United States citizen."
Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744 FN: 0000167
AB 267
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