BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1352 (Eggman) - Deferred entry of judgment: withdrawal of
plea
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|Version: May 19, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1352 would require a court to allow a defendant who
was granted deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) on or after January
1, 1997, after pleading guilty or nolo contendere to the charged
offense, to obtain dismissal of the plea upon which the DEJ was
granted if the defendant performed satisfactorily during the DEJ
period and the defendant attests that the plea may result in the
denial or loss of any employment, benefit, license, or
certificate, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact: Potentially significant increase in trial court costs
(General Fund*) for new petitions to dismiss pleas of guilty and
nolo contendere submitted for cases granted DEJ retroactive to
January 1, 1997.
AB 1352 (Eggman) Page 1 of
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*Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: Existing law provides that a defendant may qualify for DEJ of
specified non-violent drug possession offenses subject to the
following criteria:
The defendant has no prior convictions for any offense
involving controlled substances.
The offense charged did not involve a crime of violence
or threatened violence.
There is no evidence of a violation relating to
narcotics or restricted dangerous drugs other than a
violation of the specified deferrable drug offenses.
The defendant's record does not indicate that probation
or parole has ever been revoked without thereafter being
completed.
The defendant's record does not indicate that he or she
has successfully completed or been terminated from
diversion or DEJ within five years prior to the alleged
commission of the charged offense.
The defendant has no prior felony conviction within five
years prior to the alleged commission of the charged
offense. (Penal Code (PC) § 1000 (a).)
Existing law requires the court to hold a hearing and determine
if the defendant consents to further proceedings and if the
defendant should be granted DEJ. If the court does not find that
the defendant would benefit by DEJ, or if the defendant does not
consent to participate, the proceedings are required to continue
as in any other case. Under existing law, DEJ is granted for no
less than 18 months, but no longer than three years. (PC §
1000.2.)
With regard to issues related to immigration, a conviction for
possession of controlled substances, even if dismissed, could
potentially prompt deportation proceedings or prevent an
individual from becoming a U.S. citizen. This bill seeks to
reduce the potential for such adverse immigration consequences.
Proposed Law:
This bill provides that in any case in which a defendant was
AB 1352 (Eggman) Page 2 of
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granted DEJ, on or after January 1, 1997, after pleading guilty
or nolo contendere to the charged offense, a defendant shall be
permitted by the court to withdraw the plea of guilty or nolo
contendere and enter a plea of not guilty if the defendant
attests to both of the following:
The charges were dismissed after the defendant performed
satisfactorily during the DEJ period.
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 inadmissible,
deportable, or subject to any other kind of adverse
immigration consequence.
This bill directs the Judicial Council to develop a form for use
by persons seeking the relief authorized by this bill to attest
to the information required for such relief. Additionally, this
bill:
Requires a defendant seeking relief under this bill to
submit documentation, as specified, of dismissal of charges
pursuant to successful completion of DEJ, in addition to
attesting to information required for relief.
Requires the court to dismiss the complaint or
information against the defendant if the defendant shows
that he or she performed satisfactorily under DEJ and that
the plea underlying DEJ may result in a denial of
employment benefit, license or certificate, or have adverse
immigration consequences.
Provides legislative findings and declarations that
state, "The statement in PC § 1000.4, that "successful
completion of a DEJ 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 the plea underlying DEJ. Specifically, in
the case of some defendants, including all noncitizen
defendants, the disposition of the case may cause adverse
consequences, including adverse immigration consequences.
Accordingly, the Legislature finds and declares that based
on this misinformation and the potential harm of the plea,
the defendant's prior plea is invalid."
AB 1352 (Eggman) Page 3 of
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Related
Legislation: AB 1351 (Eggman) 2015 would convert the existing
system of DEJ to pretrial diversion. This bill is scheduled to
be heard today by this Committee.
Staff
Comments: The Judicial Council could potentially incur
significant new workload for requests for dismissal of pleas for
defendants granted DEJ on or after January 1, 1997, after
pleading guilty or nolo contendere to a charged offense, as
specified. In the absence of available data indicating how many
individuals will request relief offered by the bill, however,
the extent of the fiscal impact is unknown but potentially
significant and in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars
annually.
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