BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 897
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 12, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 897
(Gonzalez) - As Amended May 6, 2015
PROPOSED CONSENT
SUBJECT: RETENTION OF RECORDS: COURT FILES
KEY ISSUE: should the rules governing Record retention by
courts be amended so that court files regarding certain
misdemeanor traffic offenses are retained by courts for periods
that correlate with the time periods when convictions for those
offenses are relevant to future criminal proceedings?
SYNOPSIS
This modest bill seeks to correct what appears to be a drafting
error in the rules governing retention of court files regarding
certain misdemeanor traffic offenses. Current law requires
courts to retain most misdemeanor case files for five years.
There is an exception in current law for case files that involve
certain misdemeanor violations of the Vehicle Code.,
specifically Vehicle Code Sections 23109 (speed contests),
23109.5 (sentencing for speed contests), 23152 (driving under
the influence of alcohol, or DUI) and 23153 (DUI causing bodily
injury), requiring those case files to be retained for ten
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years. It makes sense to retain DUI case files for ten years
because a prior offense committed within the past ten years can
be charged as an enhancement in a new case. But retaining court
records about speed contest violations for ten years is not
necessary because a speed contest conviction can only be charged
as an enhancement in a new case for five years. On the other
hand, current law requires misdemeanor case files alleging
Vehicle Code Section 23103 (reckless driving) violations for
only five years when it would make sense to retain those records
for a longer period. A conviction for reckless driving that is
related to an arrest for driving under the influence can be
charged as a prior offense in a DUI case that occurs within ten
years of the alcohol-related reckless driving conviction,
resulting in an enhanced sentence and additional terms of
probation. Therefore, the court should retain court files
regarding reckless driving offenses for ten years, rather than
only five years, as required by current law and should retain
court files about speed contest offenses for only five years,
rather than ten years, as required by current law. This bill is
supported by the Marin County Superior Court and has no
opposition on file. It will be referred to the Assembly
Appropriations Committee if it should pass out of this
Committee.
SUMMARY: Changes the rules governing retention of court files
involving certain misdemeanor traffic offenses. Specifically,
this bill reduces the requirement for courts to retain files
regarding allegations of violations of Vehicle Code Sections
23109 (speed contests) and 23109.5 (sentencing for speed
contests) from ten years to five years while increasing the
requirement for courts to retain files regarding allegations of
a violation of Vehicle Code Section 23103.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires courts to retain files regarding allegations of most
misdemeanor offenses for five years. (Government Code Section
68152(c)(7).)
2)Requires courts to retain files regarding allegations of
certain misdemeanor traffic offenses, specifically Vehicle
Code Sections 23109 (speed contests), 23109.5 (sentencing for
speed contest violations), 23152 (driving under the influence
of alcohol, or DUI) and 23153 (DUI causing bodily injury), for
ten years. (Government Code Section 68152(c)(7).)
3)Allows for cases where a defendant was charged with a
violation of Vehicle Code Section 23152 (DUI), but entered
into a plea deal with the government for a violation of 23103
(reckless driving), the resulting conviction will count as a
prior under 23103.5(c) for purposes of Sections 23540, 23546,
23550, 23560, 23566, 23622 (all of which provide for enhanced
sentencing if a subsequent offense occurs within ten years of
the prior). (Vehicle Code Section 23622(a). All further
statutory references are to the Vehicle Code, unless otherwise
indicated.)
4)Requires a defendant who has been convicted of a violation of
Section 23152 (DUI) or Section 23153 (DUI with bodily injury)
within the past ten year to participate in an alcohol program
as a condition of probation. (Section 23640.)
5)Allows a conviction for Section 23109 (speed contest) to be
charged as an enhancement of a new criminal charge alleging a
violation of that offense for five years after the original
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conviction. (Section 23109.5(a).)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS: Government Code Section 68152 was amended in 2013 by
AB 1352 (Levine, Stats. 2013, Ch. 274). According to this
Committee's analysis, the purpose of that bill, sponsored by the
Judicial Council, was to "revise[] trial court record retention
requirements."
According to the author, many court records today are kept
for years beyond their useful period and, as a result,
trial courts are forced to devote a substantial amount of
time and resources to the storage and maintenance of
unnecessary court records. According to a 2007 Judicial
Council survey, court records were stored in 276 locations
around the state, totaling almost 2 million linear feet.
The costs associated with managing those records, as of
2006-07, were almost $22 million, with $15 million of that
devoted to staff costs. The author believes that the
revisions proposed by this bill will "allow courts to
efficient and effectively manage court records and reduce
unnecessary storage costs."
Prior to AB 1352, the retention period was ten years for
misdemeanors alleging a violation of Sections 23103, 23152, or
23153, and five years for Section 23109. The statute,
Government Code Section 68152(e), read in relevant part:
(4) Misdemeanor, except as otherwise specified: five years.
(5) Misdemeanor alleging a violation of the Vehicle Code,
except as otherwise specified: three years.
(6) Misdemeanor alleging a violation of Section 23103,
23152, or 23153 of the Vehicle Code: 10 years.
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(7) Misdemeanor alleging a violation of Section 14601,
14601.1, 20002, 23104, 23105, 23109, or 23109.1 of the
Vehicle Code: five years.
Therefore, AB 1352 switched the retention periods for violations
of Sections 23103 and 23109. As a result, current law provides
for a five-year retention period for Section 23103 violations
and a ten-year retention period for Section 23109 violations.
There does not appear to be any clear reason for the switch.
Until AB 1352 was enacted, the Government Code had long required
a separate retention period for court files involving alleged
violations of Vehicle Code Sections 23103, 23152, and 23153. At
least as far back as AB 796 (Frazee, Stats. 1989, Ch. 1131),
there has been a longer retention period for records alleging
Section 23103, which was seven years according to the provisions
of that bill. The seven-year period remained in place until SB
1694 (Torlakson, Stats. 2004, Ch. 550). SB 1694 increased the
time period during which DUI-related convictions could be
charged as prior offenses from seven years to ten years, and
also increased the record retention period for those records
from seven to ten years. In light of this history and the lack
of any explanation for the switch in AB 1352, it appears that
the change in that bill was likely the result of a drafting
error.
This conclusion is consistent with the opinion of the Court
Executive Officer of the Marin County Superior Court. Writing
in support of the bill, she notes that:
I was a member of a working group of the Judicial Council
of California that assisted Assemblymember Marc Levine in
drafting language for AB 1352, which made significant
improvements in the laws that govern retention of court
records and clarified the statutes pertaining to the new
ways that court records are produced and may be retained.
During that drafting, an incorrect code section was
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inserted in the final version of the bill. After the bill
was chaptered, I noticed the error and brought it to the
attention of Judicial Council's Office of Governmental
Affairs. On behalf of the trial courts, we will be most
appreciative if this error can be corrected during this
legislative session.
It makes sense to restore the pre-AB 1352 record retention rules
for the types of records at issue in this bill. Section 23109
governs speed contest violations. Retaining court records
alleging 23109 violations for a period of five years makes sense
in light of Section 23109.5, which provides that a sentencing
judge may not strike a prior for sentencing purposes "[i]n any
case charging a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 23109
and where the offense occurs within five years of one or more
prior offenses." (Section 23109.5(a), italics added.) This
sentencing statute suggests that it would be important to retain
court records for five years in the event that the defendant was
charged with committing a subsequent offense during that time
period.
Likewise, there is a valid reason for retaining court records
alleging Section 23103 violations for ten years. Section 23103
governs reckless driving violations. For cases in which a
defendant is charged with a violation of Section 23152 (DUI),
but enters a plea negotiated with the prosecution to a violation
of Section 23103 (reckless driving), the resulting conviction
will count as a prior under Section 23103.5(c) for purposes of
Sections 23540, 23546, 23550, 23560, 23566, 23622 (all of which
provide for enhanced sentencing if a subsequent offense occurs
within ten years of the prior). (Section 23622(a).) Further,
if that defendant has been convicted of violating Section 23152
(DUI) or Section 23153 (DUI with bodily injury) within the past
ten years, the court must order the defendant to participate in
an alcohol treatment program as a condition of probation.
Because subsequent offenses occurring within 10 years of a prior
could result in enhanced sentences and required terms of
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probation, the court needs to retain court files regarding
violations of Section 23103. (Section 23640.)
Other violations of the Vehicle Code are similar or related to
violations of 23103. For example, Section 23104 (reckless
driving with bodily injury) and 23105 (sentencing for violations
of 23104). Although Section 23105 is a sentencing statute, it
is mentioned with Sections 23103 and 23104 in multiple code
sections as convictions that are associated with DUI and/or
reckless driving convictions. In order to ensure that all case
files associated with reckless driving offense are maintained
for ten years, the author may want to consider amending the bill
in the future to include those two additional related code
sections.
Prior relevant legislation. AB 1352 (Levine), Chap. 274, Stats.
2013, revised trial court record retention requirements.
AB 1926 (Evans), Chap. 167, Stats. 2010, sought to modernize the
maintenance of trial court records by allowing courts to create,
maintain, and preserve court records electronically or in any
form of communication, if the form satisfies rules adopted by
the Judicial Council.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Marin County Superior Court
AB 897
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Alison Merrilees / JUD. / (916) 319-2334