BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1927
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 29, 2016
Counsel: David Billingsley
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
AB
1927 (Lackey) - As Introduced March 28, 2016
SUMMARY: Specifies that if the notice to appear in court
(citation) is being transmitted in electronic form, the copy of
the notice to appear issued to the arrested person need not
include the signature of the arrested person, unless
specifically requested by the arrested person.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Whenever written notice to appear has been prepared,
delivered, and filed by an officer or the prosecuting attorney
with the court pursuant to the provisions of Section 853.6 of
this code, an exact and legible duplicate copy of the notice
when filed with the magistrate, in lieu of a verified
complaint, shall constitute a complaint to which the defendant
may plead "guilty" or "nolo contendere." (Pen. Code, § 853.9,
subd. (a).)
2)If, however, the defendant violates his or her promise to
appear in court, or does not deposit lawful bail, or pleads
other than "guilty" or "nolo contendere" to the offense
charged, a complaint shall be filed which shall conform to the
provisions of this code and which shall be deemed to be an
original complaint; and thereafter proceedings shall be had as
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provided by law, except that a defendant may, by an agreement
in writing, subscribed by him or her and filed with the court,
waive the filing of a verified complaint and elect that the
prosecution may proceed upon a written notice to appear. (Pen.
Code, § 853.9, subd. (a).)
3)Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this
section, whenever the written notice to appear has been
prepared on a form approved by the Judicial Council, an exact
and legible duplicate copy of the notice when filed with the
magistrate shall constitute a complaint to which the defendant
may enter a plea and, if the notice to appear is verified,
upon which a warrant may be issued. If the notice to appear is
not verified, the defendant may, at the time of arraignment,
request that a verified complaint be filed. (Pen. Code, §
853.9, subd. (b).)
4)Species that when a person is arrested for misdemeanor, and
does not demand to be taken before a magistrate, that person
shall be released with a citation, as specified. (Pen. Code
853.6, subd. (a)(1).)
5)States that if the person is released with a citation, the
officer or his or her superior shall prepare in duplicate a
written notice to appear in court, containing the name and
address of the person, the offense charged, and the time when,
and place where, the person shall appear in court. (Pen. Code
853.6, subd. (a)(1).)
6)Specifies that unless waived by the person, the time specified
in the notice to appear shall be at least 10 days after arrest
if the duplicate notice is to be filed by the officer with the
judge. (Pen. Code 853.6, subd. (b)(1).)
7)Requires the officer to deliver one copy of the notice to
appear to the arrested person, and the arrested person, in
order to secure release, shall give his or her written promise
to appear in court as specified in the notice by signing the
duplicate notice which shall be retained by the officer, and
the officer may require the arrested person, if he or she has
no satisfactory identification, to place a right thumbprint,
or a left thumbprint or fingerprint if the person has a
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missing or disfigured right thumb, on the notice to appear.
(Pen. Code 853.6, subd. (d).
8)Requires the officer, as soon as practicable, to file the
duplicate notice, as specified. (Pen. Code 853.6, subd. (e).)
9)States that a criminal prosecution may be commenced by filing
an accusatory pleading in electronic form with the judge or in
a court having authority to receive it. (Pen. Code, § 959.1,
subd. (a).)
10)Provides that a notice to appear issued on a form approved by
the Judicial Council may be received and filed by court in
electronic form, if the following conditions are met:
a) The notice to appear is issued and transmitted by a law
enforcement agency, as specified; (Pen. Code, § 959.1,
subd. (d)(1).)
b) The court has all of the following:
i) The ability to receive the notice to appear in
electronic format; (Pen. Code, § 959.1, subd. (d)(2)(A).)
ii) The facility to electronically store an electronic
copy and the data elements of the notice to appear for
the statutory period of record retention; and (Pen. Code,
§ 959.1, subd. (d)(2)(b).)
iii) The ability to reproduce the electronic copy of the
notice to appear and those data elements in printed form
upon demand and payment of any costs involved. (Pen.
Code, § 959.1, subd. (d)(2)(C).)
c) The issuing agency has the ability to reproduce the
notice to appear in physical form upon demand. (Pen. Code,
§ 959.1, subd. (d)(3).)
11)States that if the notice to appear is transmitted in
electronic form, it is deemed to have been signed by the
defendant if it includes a digitized facsimile of the
defendant's signature on the notice to appear. (Pen. Code, §
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959.1, subd. (f).)
12)Provides that a notice to appear filed electronically need
not be subscribed by the citing officer. (Pen. Code, § 959.1,
subd. (f).)
13)Specifies that an electronically submitted notice to appear
need not be verified by the citing officer with a declaration
under penalty of perjury if the electronic form indicates
which parts of the notice are verified by that declaration and
the name of the officer making the declaration. (Pen. Code, §
959.1, subd. (f).)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "Conducting
traffic stops as a Police Officer can be a dangerous part of
the job. Officers need to control the stop, the violator
inside the vehicle, the area around them, and complete the
citation in a reasonable amount of time. The fewer the number
of contacts with a violator the safer it is for a Police
Officer to conduct his job and release the violator from being
detained in the shortest amount of time.
"This bill would update California Law to take into account the
issuing of electronic citations, so that Police Officers do
not have to increase the number of contacts with a violator
during a traffic stop. Law enforcement agencies may stop
issuing electronic citations or be hesitant to start the
process because of safety concerns. Yet electronic citations
are significantly more efficient than the triplicate forms
used today. When we encourage law enforcement agencies and our
courts to be more efficient, we should also balance that with
modern laws that reflect technological advancements while
maintaining officer safety."
2)Background: Law enforcement officers issue a citation
whenever they give someone a traffic ticket. An officer also
issues a citation to a person if they arrest the individual on
a misdemeanor charge, but release that person without taking
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them into custody. A citation serves as the notice to appear
in court for the person that has received the citation. A
signed copy of the citation is sent to court by the law
enforcement agency issuing the citation.
When conducting traffic stops to issue citations, the officer
runs the information through dispatch and returns to the
violator's vehicle to fill out a triplicate form where one
signed copy goes to the violator, one to the officer and one
to the agency, resulting in a "two contact approach" to the
vehicle.
Again, the first contact occurs when the officer first
approaches the vehicle seeking the driver's license and
registration. The officer then goes back to his vehicle,
writes up the ticket and approaches the vehicle a second time
to have the driver sign the citation, at which time the
officer gives a signed copy to the driver (two approaches).
With new technologies, many agencies are using electronic
handheld devices to be more efficient when issuing citations.
This device resembles the machines a person signs when
receiving a package from FedEx or UPS. With this device, once
the officer completes the citation and obtains a signature
(second contact), it is wirelessly sent to a printer in the
patrol vehicle, where, under current law, the officer must
retrieve it and bring the exact signed copy of the citation
back to the violator. This results in a third contact.
3)Benefits of Electronic Citations: The use of electronic
citations can provide efficiencies that save money for law
enforcement agencies and courts. Many paper citations the
courts receive contain errors due to misspelling, poor
handwriting, smudged copies, and inconsistencies between
violation codes and descriptions. Electronic citation
technology can eliminate many of these types of errors.
Electronic citation technology promises benefits from saving
time and reducing costs, to increasing officer efficiency. The
current paper system used in most jurisdictions takes an
average of 12 days to process a citation and send it to the
court. With an electronic citation, this process can now be
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done seamlessly within seconds. Once the infrastructure is
paid for, an electronic citation system promises to be a
cost-effective solution since it will eliminate a great deal
of overhead associated with clerical tasks. (The Use of
Electronic Citations: A Nationwide Assessment, A Joint Report
by the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice
Assistance and the Department of Transportation, June, 2003,
p. 6.)
4)Argument in Support: According to The Peace Officers Research
Association of California, "Every time an officer pulls a
vehicle over, they are automatically in a dangerous situation.
Not only are they dealing with the threats of the roadway and
traffic, they are also faced with the potential danger of the
individual or individuals inside the vehicle that was pulled
over. An officer never knows whether the violator is
concealing a weapon, nor do they know the mental state of that
person.
"Electronic citations were initially implemented to streamline a
process; however, in a traffic stop, an officer typically
contacts the driver to collect information, and then returns
to their patrol vehicle to fill out the citation. Once the
citation is complete, the officer will re-contact the driver
to obtain their signature, and then give them a copy of the
signed citation. With the addition of the electronic hand
device, once the device is electronically signed, the officer
must go back to his/her patrol vehicle to get the signed
citation from the printer within their vehicle and return for
a third time to the violator's vehicle. Unlike the
traditional "two approach" traffic stop, this new
implementation increases the stop to three approaches;
therefore, increases the time and danger of a traffic stop."
5)Argument in Opposition: According to The California Public
Defenders, "AB 1927 would allow the prosecution to use an
unsigned electronic notice to appear both as a complaint and
to issue an arrest warrant if the person failed to appear.
The person would specifically have to elect to sign the
electronic promise to appear.
"Under existing law, Penal Code section 853.9 provides that a
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written notice to appear may be issued to an arrestee and then
filed with the court. If defendant fails to appear on the
written notice to appear, a warrant may be issued for the
defendant's arrest.
"This proposed procedure of deleting the signature is too
vulnerable to fraud. It is not uncommon for individuals to use
another person's identity when stopped by the police and
issued a notice to appear. Historically, defense counsel has
been able to demonstrate that the client was not the
individual stopped by having the prosecutor compare the notice
to appear signature with the client's true signature.
"In this era of widespread identity theft, an unsigned notice to
appear is even more vulnerable to fraud. And finally, an
unsigned notice to appear could be a tool of harassment in the
hands of some rogue law enforcement official."
6)Prior Legislation:
a) AB 2303 (Judiciary Committee), Chapter 567, Statutes of
2006, specified that an accusatory pleading in electronic
form was sufficient if it indicates it was sworn and has
the name of that officer.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Peace Officers Research Association of California (Sponsor)
California Police Chiefs Association
Opposition
California Public Defenders Association
Analysis Prepared
by: David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
AB 1927
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