BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2013 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2013 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Introduced February 16, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill establishes a five-year pilot program in Los Angeles County and five other counties, requiring the judge to make a finding of probable cause that a crime has been committed when an out-of-custody defendant is facing a misdemeanor charge, upon request by the defendant. The five counties will be selected by a five-member committee comprised of two members selected by the Governor, one each by the Judicial Council, the California Public Defenders Association and the California District AB 2013 Page 2 Attorneys Association. FISCAL EFFECT: Ongoing increase in court workload and costs, potentially in excess of $1.5 million for new probable cause determinations for non-custodial misdemeanor defendants. Statewide, for every 10 percent of non-custodial defendants charged with a misdemeanor who request such a determination of probable cause, annual costs are estimated at $2.5 million. Los Angeles County represents approximately one-third of all filings and if five additional counties participate, the cost could exceed $1.5 million, if only ten percent of defendants make the request. (Trial Court Trust Fund) The five-year pilot program will help determine if there are any ongoing savings. COMMENTS: 1)Background/Purpose. Existing law provides that upon a motion by an in-custody defendant charged with a misdemeanor, the court shall determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a public offense was committed by the defendant. This bill, on a pilot project basis, extends the same right to such a finding to an out-of-custody defendant. In addition to giving a defendant the ability to not have to live with a potential misdemeanor hanging over his or her head, it could AB 2013 Page 3 save a County Public Defender's Office time and money investigating a case and talking to expert witnesses if a case where there is not probable cause is dismissed early on. According to the author, "Current law is replete with various means to weed out weak, baseless, or insufficiently supported lawsuits, whether criminal or civil. Such means are designed to prevent unnecessary stress, oppression, and expense for civil and criminal defendants, and also to prevent unnecessary consumption of court time and resources. By identifying meritless cases at an early stage before complex and expensive proceedings, including a jury trial, such costs are prevented. "In the wake of Proposition 47, it has been projected that misdemeanor trial courts statewide will be inundated with thousands and perhaps tens of thousands of what were formerly low level felonies. These courts and defendants will be without the means to weed out the weakest of those charges. Without additional authority to evaluate those cases, the courts may very well find themselves overwhelmed with pending misdemeanor trials." 2)Support: According to California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, "Under California law, both felony-charged and misdemeanor-charged defendants who are in custody, receive a determination of probable cause within 48 hours of being arrested. However, misdemeanor defendants who are out of custody must wait at least 10 days and such determinations can take weeks or months. These individuals must take time off work, school or other activities, facing the anxiety of being charged with a crime. In the face of such demands, some innocent defendants are forced to "take a deal" rather than risk losing a job or failing their school work. "AB 2013 would establish a 5-year pilot project in six counties that would require a court, on motion by the defendant or the defendant's counsel. To make a finding of probable cause in determining whether a crime has been committed when the AB 2013 Page 4 defendant is out of custody and facing a misdemeanor charge. 3)Prior Legislation: AB 696 (Jones-Sawyer), of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, would have required probable cause determination for out of custody misdemeanor defendants upon request by counsel. AB 696 was vetoed by the Governor; the veto message was as follows: "I understand the potential benefits to a defendant in having the court make this determination earlier in the process. However, the impact on the courts is unclear and could well be significant. I would welcome a small, carefully crafted pilot to assess the impact of this proposal." Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081