BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 267
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GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
267 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Enrolled September 9, 2015
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | | (April 27, |SENATE: | 31-8 | (September 2, |
| |57-21 |2015) | | |2015) |
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|ASSEMBLY: | | (September 4, | | | |
| |63-12 |2015) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
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
offense.
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The Senate amendments allow the court to provide required
advisement through a form notice presented to the defendant, or
a bulletin posted in the courtroom.
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 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
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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 the acceptance of
a 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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:
1)Required 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
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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;
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)Stated that with respect to a plea accepted prior to January
1, 2016, it is not the intent of the Legislature that a
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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.
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."
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
This bill requires the court to provide a criminal defendant
with information about a wide array of potential consequences of
a guilty plea.
I believe ensuring adequate consideration of the various
consequences of a criminal conviction prior to a guilty plea is
the responsibility of the defendant's counsel, who is best
situated to determine which advisements are appropriate and
meaningful to the defendant.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0002458
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