BILL NUMBER: AB 2839	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Thurmond

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to amend Section 1270 of the Penal Code, relating to
criminal procedure.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2839, as introduced, Thurmond. Criminal procedure: release on
defendant's own recognizance.
   Existing law provides that a defendant who is in custody and
arraigned for a misdemeanor offense, or who has been arrested upon an
out-of-county warrant arising from a case involving only
misdemeanors, is entitled to be released on his or her recognizance
unless the court finds that the release will compromise public safety
or will not reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant, in
which case the court is required to set bail and specify conditions,
if any, for release.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1270 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   1270.  (a) Any person who has been arrested for, or charged with,
an offense other than a capital offense may be released on his or her
own recognizance by a court or magistrate who could release a
defendant from custody upon the defendant giving bail, including a
defendant arrested upon an out-of-county warrant. A defendant who is
in custody and is arraigned on a complaint alleging an offense
 which   that  is a misdemeanor, and a
defendant who appears before a court or magistrate upon an
out-of-county warrant arising out of a case involving only
misdemeanors, shall be entitled to an own recognizance release unless
the court makes a finding on the record, in accordance with Section
1275, that an own recognizance release will compromise public safety
or will not reasonably  assure   ensure 
the appearance of the defendant as required. Public safety shall be
the primary consideration. If the court makes one of those findings,
the court shall then set bail and specify the conditions, if any,
whereunder the defendant shall be released.
   (b) Article 9 (commencing with Section 1318) shall apply to
 any   a  person who is released pursuant
to this section.