Amended in Senate May 19, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 27, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1352

Introduced by Assembly Member Eggman

February 27, 2015

An act to add Section 1203.43 to the Penal Code, relating to deferred entry of judgment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1352, as amended, Eggman. Deferred entry of judgment: withdrawal of plea.

Existing law allows judgment to be deferred with respect to a defendant who is charged with certain crimes involving possession of controlled substances and who meets certain criteria, including that he or she has no prior convictions for any offense involving controlled substances and has had no felony convictions within the 5 years prior, as specified. Existing law prohibits the record pertaining to an arrest resulting in successful completion of a deferred entry of judgment program from being used in any way that could result in the denial of employment, benefit, license, or certificate.

This bill would require a court to allow a defendant who was granted deferred entry of judgment on or after January 1, 1997, after pleading guilty or nolo contendere to the charged offense, to withdraw his or her plea and enter a plea of not guilty, and would require the court to dismiss the complaint or information against the defendant, if the defendant performed satisfactorily during the deferred entry of judgment period and the defendant begin delete shows end delete begin insert attests end insert that the plea may result in the denial or loss to the defendant of any employment, benefit, license, or certificate, including, but not limited to, causing a noncitizen defendant to potentially be found inadmissable, deportable, or subject to any other kind of adverse immigration consequence. begin insert The bill would require the Judicial Council to develop a form to allow the defendant to make this attestation. Pursuant to the bill, the completion, signing, and submission of the form with specified documentation would be presumed to satisfy the requirement for the withdrawal of the plea and dismissal of the complaint. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1203.43 is added to the Penal Code, to
read:

1203.43.  

(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that the
statement in Section 1000.4, that “successful completion of a
deferred entry of judgment program shall not, without the
defendant’s consent, be used in any way that could result in the
denial of any employment, benefit, license, or certificate”
constitutes misinformation about the actual consequences of
making a plea in the case of some defendants, including all
noncitizen defendants, because the disposition of the case may
cause adverse consequences, including adverse immigration
consequences.

(2) Accordingly, the Legislature finds and declares that based
on this misinformation and the potential harm, the defendant’s
prior plea is invalid.

(b) In any case in which a defendant was granted deferred entry
of judgment on or after January 1, 1997, after pleading guilty or
nolo contendere to the charged offense, the defendant shall be
permitted by the court to withdraw the plea of guilty or nolo
contendere and enter a plea of not guilty, and thereafter the court
shall dismiss the complaint or information against the defendant,
if the defendant begin delete shows end delete begin insert attests to end insert both of the following:

(1) The charges were dismissed after the defendant performed
satisfactorily during the deferred entry of judgment period.

(2) The plea of guilty or nolo contendere may result in the denial
or loss to the defendant of any employment, benefit, license, or
certificate, including, but not limited to, causing a noncitizen
defendant to potentially be found inadmissable, deportable, or
subject to any other kind of adverse immigration consequence.

begin insert

(c) The Judicial Council shall, by June 1, 2016, develop a form
that allows a defendant to attest to the information described in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b).

end insert begin insert

(d) The defendant shall submit documentation of the dismissal
of charges or satisfactory participation in, or completion of,
diversion programming. The completion, signing, and submission
by the defendant of the form described in subdivision (c) with the
documentation specified in this subdivision shall be presumed to
satisfy the requirements for withdrawal of the plea and dismissal
of the complaint or information against the defendant.

end insert