BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1927 Hearing Date: May 10, 2016
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|Author: |Lackey |
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|Version: |March 28, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|ML |
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Subject: Criminal Procedure: Notice to Appear
HISTORY
Source: Peace Officers Research Association of California
Prior Legislation:None
Support: California Association of Highway Patrolmen;
California Police Chiefs Association
Opposition:None Known
Assembly Floor Vote: 78 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to authorize law enforcement
officers to give a person violating the law a copy of their
'notice to appear' in court without the signature of the
defendant, unless the person specifically requests it.
Existing law requires officers to prepare a written notice to
appear in court if a person who violates the law does not have
to go before a magistrate and is subsequently released after the
violation. The notice to appear must include the name and
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address of person involved, the offense charged, the time and
place in which the person must appear in court, and the
violator's signature in order to secure their release as a
written promise that the defendant will appear in court as
specified in the notice to appear. (Penal Code § 853.6 (a),
(d).)
Existing law requires an officer or prosecuting attorney to
provide a defendant an exact and legible duplicate copy of any
written notice that an officer or prosecuting attorney has
prepared, delivered and filed with the court in which the
defendant may plead "guilty" or "nolo contendre" to the original
complaint. (Pen. Code, § 853.9 (a).)
Existing law requires that 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 (b).)
Existing law 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 (a).)
Existing law authorizes the judicial council to approve an
electronically transmitted notice to appear if the notice to
appear meets the following criteria: it is issued and
transmitted by a law enforcement agency; the courts have the
ability to receive, store and reproduce such notices in
electronic format; and the issuing agency has the ability to
reproduce the notice to appear in physical form upon demand.
(Pen. Code, § 959.1 (d)(1) - (3).)
Existing law 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, §
959.1 (f).)
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This bill would authorize a police officer to give a defendant a
copy of their notice to appear in court without the signature of
the defendant, unless the defendant specifically requests that
the copy they receive contains their signature.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of
December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed
capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the
final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed
capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February
2015." (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to
February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge
Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One
year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult
institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,
and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.
(Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
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population, the state must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
When conducting traffic stops to issue a citation (also
known as a "notice to appear"), the officer runs the
information through dispatch and returns to the violator's
vehicle to fill out a triplicate form. One signed copy goes
to the violator, one to the officer, and one to the court.
This is called a "two contact approach".
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
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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 trip back to the vehicle by the officer, or a
"three contact approach."
In addition to the potential danger of high speed traffic,
it is unknown to the officer whether the occupants of the
violator's vehicle are armed or potentially dangerous.
Under these circumstances, two contacts with each vehicle
are very dangerous. Contacting a violator a third time
during a traffic stop greatly increases an officer's risk
of harm especially if a violator is agitated for any
reason.
This bill amends the penal code to include an exception
that violators do not need an exact signed copy of their
citation when an electronic citation is given unless
specifically requested by the violator. This will reduce
the risk for both the officer and the offender by limiting
the number of contact during a traffic stop.
2. Background; Effect of This Bill
This bill provides that if a citation issued by a peace officer
is transmitted electronically, the copy of the citation issued
does not need to include the signature of the person who is
issued the notice to appear citation unless they specifically
request a copy of the citation with their signature.
Electronic citations were initially implemented to streamline
the citation 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 the violator a copy of
the signed citation. With the addition of the electronic hand
held device, once the device is electronically signed, the
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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. The process thus increases the
time and danger involved in an ordinary traffic stop.
Police officers are four times more likely to get involved in an
accident including a vehicle than a civilian motorist.<1>
Between the 17-year-period of 1993 to 2009, an average of one
officer a month was struck and killed by a motor vehicle.<2>
During the years 2005 to 2014, 134 police officers were struck
and killed by a vehicle.<3> In order to help prevent the
substantial number of officers from being struck and
subsequently injured or killed, Move Over laws came into effect
in forty-nine different states (only Hawaii and D.C. do not have
these laws), requiring motorists to change lanes or slow down
when they approach an emergency vehicle.<4>
3. Argument in Support
According to the California Police Chiefs Association Inc.:
The California Police Chiefs Association is pleased to
support AB 1927, which will increase peace officer safety
in California. AB 1927 provides that if the citation issued
by a peace officer to an arrested person is being
-------------------------
<1>
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=
display&article_id=2422&issue_id=72011#6
<2>
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=
display&article_id=2422&issue_id=72011#10
<3>
http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/causes.html?r
eferrer=http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/daifa
cts.html
<4>
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=
display&article_id=2422&issue_id=72011#6
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transmitted in electronic form, the copy of the citation
issued to the arrested person need not include the
signature of the arrested person, unless specifically
requested by the arrested person. With new technologies,
many agencies are using electronic handheld devices to be
more efficient when issuing citations. 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
trip back to the vehicle by the officer, or a "three
contact approach."
However, traffic stops are inherently dangerous for both
the officer and the stopped vehicle. When an officer pulls
a vehicle over on a busy street or highway, the officer
puts themselves at risk each time they exit their vehicle
and approach the violator's vehicle. In addition to the
potential danger of high speed traffic each time an officer
approaches a vehicle, it is unknown to the officer whether
the occupants of the violator's vehicle are armed or
potentially dangerous. Under these circumstances, two
contacts with each vehicle is very dangerous. Contacting a
violator three times during a traffic stop greatly
increases an officer's risk of harm.
4. Proposed Amendments in Committee
The author proposes to amend subdivision (c) of Penal Code §
853.9 in committee:
"If the notice to appear issued to and signed by the arrested
person is being transmitted in electronic form, the copy of the
citation notice to appear issued to the arrested person need not
include the signature of the arrested person, unless
specifically requested by the arrested person."
The added language is highlighted.
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