BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 920
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
920 (Gipson)
As Amended May 28, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Quirk, Melendez, | |
| | |Gonzalez, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Lackey, Low, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 920
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SUMMARY: Allows a victim's attorney to obtain a copy of the
packet prepared by the parole board for purposes of a
parole-suitability hearing. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the victim's attorney to request a copy of the parole
board packet.
2)Requires the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) to provide the
packet to the victim's attorney, if requested, at the same time
that the information is given to the district attorney.
3)Provides that the statement which the victim's representative or
next of kin is allowed to submit for the parole hearing may
include substantiating references to the board packet.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides guidelines for the BPH to schedule parole hearings for
prisoners in California Department of Correction and
Rehabilitation for whom they are appropriate.
2)Allows the prisoner, at least 10 days prior to the parole
suitability hearing, to review his or her file which will be
examined by the board, and gives the prisoner the opportunity to
file a written response to any material contained in the file.
3)Allows the prisoner to be present at the hearing, to ask and
answer questions, and to speak on his or her own behalf.
4)Entitles the victim or next of kin if the victim has died, to be
notified, upon request, of any parole-eligibility hearing and of
the right to appear, either personally or by other means
specified, to reasonably express his or her views, and to have
AB 920
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his or her statements considered.
5)Requires the BPH to give at least 30-day's notice to the
superior court judge, the defendant's trial attorney, the
district attorney, and the investigating law enforcement agency,
about an upcoming
6)Requires the BPH, upon request, to notify any victims of any
crime committed by the prisoner, or the next of kin if the
victim has died, at least 90 days before any hearing to review
or consider the parole suitability or the setting of a parole
date for any prisoner in a state prison.
7)Provides that the victim, next of kin, members of the victim's
family, and two designated representatives have the right to
appear, personally or by counsel, at the hearing and to
adequately and reasonably express his, her, or their views
concerning the prisoner and the case, including, but not limited
to the commitment crimes, determinate term commitment crimes for
which the prisoner has been paroled, any other felony crimes or
crimes against the person for which the prisoner has been
convicted, the effect of the enumerated crimes on the victim and
the family of the victim, the person responsible for these
enumerated crimes, and the suitability of the prisoner for
parole.
8)Provides that any statement by a representative designated by
the victim or next of kin may cover any subject about which the
victim or next of kin has the right to be heard, including any
recommendation regarding the granting of parole.
9)Requires BPH, in deciding whether to release the person on
parole, to consider the entire and uninterrupted statements of
the victim or victims, next of kin, immediate family members of
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the victim, and the designated representatives, if applicable,
and shall include in its report a statement whether the person
would pose a threat to public safety if released on parole.
10)Permits the victim, his or her next of kin, immediate family
members, or two representatives to provide a statement in
writing or a recorded statement in lieu of making a personal
appearance.
11)Allows the victim to appear by means of videoconferencing, if
it is available at the hearing site.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time cost to BPH in the range of $15,000 (General
Fund) for computer programming costs. Assuming that the packets
going to the victim attorneys would be hard copies, there would
also be an annual cost in the $100,000 range.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Our justice system is based on
principles of fair treatment and equal rights. However, when the
victim of a crime is not allowed access to information relevant to
the parole hearing of their assailant, which is provided to the
inmate's attorney seeking release, there is not equality for both
sides. AB 920 addresses this disparate treatment by requiring
that an attorney designated by a crime victim or their next of kin
is granted the same rights to discovery as the inmate's attorney
and district attorney during a parole hearing."
Analysis Prepared by:
Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0000737
AB 920
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