BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 504 Hearing Date: April 21, 2015
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|Author: |Lara |
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|Version: |April 6, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|AA |
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Subject: Court Records: Sealing
HISTORY
Source: Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; California
Public Defenders
Association
Prior Legislation:AB 1756 (Skinner) - Held in Senate
Appropriations, 2014
Support: Ella Baker Center for Human Rights; Californians for
Safety and Justice; Lawyers' Committee for Civil
Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area; Berkeley Youth
Alternatives; A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project;
Community Works' Project WHAT!; National Association
of Social Workers, California Chapter; Justice Now;
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; American
Civil Liberties Union of California; American Friends
Service Committee; Asian Americans Advancing Justice;
All of Us or None; At The Crossroads; Drug Policy
Alliance; National Center for Lesbian Rights; Alliance
for Boys and Men of Color; National Center for Youth
Law; California Coalition for Women Prisoners; RYSE
Youth Center; Californians United for a Responsible
Budget; Dignity and Power Now; The W. Haywood Burns
Institute; City of Richmond; National Employment Law
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Project; Courage Campaign
Opposition:None Known
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to 1) limit certain cost liabilities
related to sealing juvenile records to persons over the age of
26, as specified; and 2) provide for the automatic sealing of
certain juvenile records, as specified.
Fees for Petitions to Seal Juvenile Records
Current law provides that a person who was under the age of 18
at the time of the commission of a misdemeanor and is eligible
for or has previously received expungement relief, may petition
the court for an order sealing the record of conviction and
other official records in the case, including records of arrests
resulting in the criminal proceeding and records relating to
other offenses charged in the accusatory pleading, whether
defendant was acquitted or charges were dismissed. Thereafter
the conviction, arrest, or other proceeding shall be deemed not
to have occurred, and the petitioner may answer accordingly any
question relating to their occurrence. (Pen. Code, § 1203.45,
subd. (a).)
Current law states that a person who petitions for an order
sealing a record may be required to reimburse the court for the
actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the petition is
granted and the records are sealed or expunged, at a rate to be
determined by the court, not to exceed $150, and to reimburse
the county for the actual cost of services rendered, whether or
not the petition is granted and the records are sealed or
expunged, at a rate to be determined by the county board of
supervisors, not to exceed $150, and to reimburse any city for
the actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the
petition is granted and the records are sealed or expunged, at a
rate to be determined by the city council, not to exceed $150.
Ability to make this reimbursement shall be determined by the
court and shall not be a prerequisite to a person's eligibility
under this section. The court may order reimbursement in a case
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in which the petitioner appears to have the ability to pay,
without undue hardship, all or any portion of the cost for
services established pursuant to this subdivision. (Pen. Code,
§ 1203.45, subd. (g).)
This bill would limit this payment provision to persons who are
26 years of age and older.
Current law provides that the "father, mother, spouse, or other
person liable for the support of a minor person, the person
himself or herself if he or she is an adult, or the estates of
those persons shall, unless indigent, be liable for the cost to
the county and court for any investigation related to the
sealing and for the sealing of any juvenile court or arrest
records pursuant to Section 781 pertaining to that person. The
liability of those persons and estates shall be a joint and
several liability." (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 903.3(a).)
This bill would revise this provision to provide instead that a
person who is 26 years of age or older shall, unless indigent,
be liable for the cost to the county and court for any
investigation related to the sealing and for the sealing of any
juvenile court or arrest records pursuant to Section 781
pertaining to that person.
Current law provides in the event a petition is filed for an
order sealing a record, the father, mother, spouse, or other
person liable for the support of a minor, that person if he or
she is an adult, or the estate of that person, may be required
to reimburse the county and court for the actual cost of
services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and
the records are sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined
by the county board of supervisors for the county and by the
court for the court, not to exceed $150. Ability to make this
reimbursement shall be determined by the court and shall not be
a prerequisite to a person's eligibility under this section. The
court may order reimbursement in any case in which the
petitioner appears to have the ability to pay, without undue
hardship, all or any portion of the cost for services. (Welf. &
Inst. Code, § 903.3, subd. (b).)
This bill would revise this provision to instead limit it to a
person 26 years of age and older.
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Current law provides that the father, mother, spouse, or other
person liable for the support of the minor, the person himself
or herself if he or she is an adult, the estate of that person,
or the estate of the minor, shall not be liable for the costs
described in this section if a petition to declare the minor a
dependent child of the court is dismissed at or before the
jurisdictional hearing, as specified. (WIC § 903.3(c).
This bill would revise this subdivision to apply instead to any
"person."
This bill additionally would technically recast the existing
provisions in the bill, as specified.
Sealing of Juvenile Records
Current law provides that five years or more after the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated over a person
adjudged a ward of the court or after a minor appeared before a
probation officer, or, in any case, at any time after the person
has reached the age of 18, the person or county probation
officer, with specified exceptions, may petition the juvenile
court for sealing of the records, including arrest records,
relating to the person's case, in the custody of the juvenile
court, the probation officer, or any other agency or public
official. (Welfare and Institutions Code ("WIC") § 781(a).)
Current law provides that once the court has ordered the
person's records sealed, the proceedings in the case shall be
deemed never to have occurred, and the person may reply
accordingly to any inquiry about the events. (Id.)
This bill would revise this section to instead require courts to
seal certain juvenile records automatically by providing that in
"any case in which a petition has been filed with a juvenile
court to commence proceedings to adjudge a person a ward of the
court, the court shall, at the time the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court has terminated as to the person, order all
records, papers, and exhibits in the person's case in the
custody of the juvenile court sealed, including the juvenile
court record, minute book entries, and entries on dockets, and
any other records relating to the case in the custody of the
other agencies, entities, and officials as are named in the
order."
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This bill also would require law enforcement to seal certain
juvenile records automatically by requiring that in "any case in
which a person is cited to appear before a probation officer or
is taken before a probation officer . . . or in any case in
which a minor is taken before any officer of a law enforcement
agency, and no petition is filed, the probation department or
law enforcement agency shall, at the time at which the decision
was made to not refer the person to the probation department or
to the district attorney's office, seal all records, including
records of arrest, relating to the person's case, in the custody
of the probation department and law enforcement agency. Once
the records have been sealed, the events shall be deemed never
to have occurred, and the person may properly reply accordingly
to any inquiry about the events, the records of which are
sealed."
This bill would not change the current sealing limitations
applicable to juvenile records concerning serious crimes, as
specified, including those established by the passage of
Proposition 21 in 2000.
Current law provides that unless "for good cause the court
determines that the juvenile court record shall be retained, the
court shall order the destruction of a person's juvenile court
records that are sealed pursuant to this section as follows:
five years after the record was ordered sealed, if the person
who is the subject of the record was alleged or adjudged to be a
person described by Section 601; or when the person who is the
subject of the record reaches the age of 38 if the person was
alleged or adjudged to be a person described by Section 602,
except that if the subject of the record was found to be a
person described in Section 602 because of the commission of an
offense listed in subdivision (b) of Section 707 when he or she
was 14 years of age or older, the record shall not be destroyed.
Any other agency in possession of sealed records may destroy its
records five years after the record was ordered sealed." (WIC §
781(d).)
This bill would delete this provision.
Current law provides that the court may access a file that has
been sealed pursuant to this section for the limited purpose of
verifying the prior jurisdictional status of a ward who is
petitioning the court to resume its jurisdiction . . . (relating
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to dependency pursuant to subdivision section 388(e)). This
access shall not be deemed an unsealing of the record and shall
not require notice to any other entity." (WIC § 781(e).)
This bill would delete this provision, and provide instead that
the "person who is the subject of records sealed pursuant to
this section may petition the superior court to permit
inspection of the records by persons named in the petition, and
the superior court may order the inspection of the records."
This bill additionally would provide that these records shall
not be open to inspection except as specified.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past eight 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 February of this year the administration reported that as "of
February 11, 2015, 112,993 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.6% of design bed
capacity, and 8,828 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. This current population is now below the
court-ordered reduction to 137.5% of design bed capacity."(
Defendants' February 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).
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
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population, the state now 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.Stated Need for This Bill
The author states in part:
Since 2007 the Legislature has charged itself with the
duty of reducing the evolving and severe overcrowding
in California's prisons. As the Legislature continues
to make progress on this initiative, SB 504 arrives as
an aid in the ongoing charge to reduce prison
populations.
SB 504 endeavors to increase the accessibility of
record sealing for adjudicated youth by removing the
fee associated with expungement.
. . .
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Under current law, the records-sealing fee serves as
an obstacle for a youth's successful reentry.
Adjudicated youth who seek to clear their records must
pay $150 to petition the court to seal his or her
records. Filing the petition is a risk, because
payment does not guarantee expungement, yet many of
these youth have minor misdemeanors and will be
eligible for expungement.
The current law is cost-prohibitive and
counterintuitive. Without sealed records, these youth
will have limited opportunities and will likely
recidivate. When employers and landlords conduct
background checks on applicants, a juvenile record can
be used as a basis for a denial. Sealing records is
the best way to ensure that these youth's past
mistakes do not continuously hinder their future
opportunities. As long as the fee remains as an
obstacle to these youth's rehabilitation, record
sealing is an ineffective tool.
. . .
This bill also streamlines the sealing process into
one court hearing at the time that juvenile court
jurisdiction is terminated as opposed to two separate
events. This consolidation reduces staff time and
workload associated with record sealing applications
and the associated processes thus further decreasing
costs for the state.
Ultimately, SB 504 will improve economic outcomes for
California's youth by eliminating a fiscal barrier to
reentry and reducing the chances of recidivism. By
eliminating the fee for record sealing for youth under
twenty-six, SB 504 will also increase young people's
ability to positively contribute to our state, which
is the ultimate goal of our corrections and
rehabilitation system.
2. Background: Sealing and Destruction of Juvenile Records
Minors adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court proceedings may
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petition the court to have their records sealed unless they were
found to have committed certain serious offenses. (WIC § 781.)
In order to seal a juvenile court record, a petition must be
filed by either the person who is the subject of the record or
the probation department. (WIC § 781.) Juvenile court
jurisdiction must have lapsed five years previously or the
person must be at least 18 years old. (WIC § 781 (a).) The
records are not sealed if the person of record has been
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude. (WIC § 781 (a).) No offenses listed in WIC section
707 subdivision (b) may be sealed if the juvenile was 14 years
or older at the time of the offense. Additionally, there can be
no pending civil litigation involving the incident.
For minors who are convicted of a misdemeanor in adult court,
Penal Code Section 1203.45 authorizes sealing of such records.
Sealing of the records may be granted if the person has already
received, or is eligible for, post-conviction dismissal of the
case under existing expungement statutes. (Pen. Code, §§ 1203.4
and 1203.4a.) If relief is granted under Penal Code Section
1203.45, the records are sealed and the conviction, arrest, or
other proceeding is deemed never to have occurred. With
exceptions, to receive relief the minor can have been convicted
of only one charge, or count, even in the same case. (Pen. Code
§ 1203.45 (d).) Sealing of records, under this provision, is not
available to a minor convicted of offenses requiring sex
offender registration or of certain Vehicle Code offenses.
Juvenile court records generally must be destroyed when the
person of record reaches the age of 38 unless good cause is
shown for maintaining those records. (WIC § 826.) The person
of record also may petition to destroy records retained by other
agencies. (WIC § 826 (b).) The request shall be granted unless
good cause is shown for retention of the records. (WIC § 826.)
When records are destroyed pursuant to the above provision, the
proceedings "shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the
person may reply accordingly to an inquiry." (WIC § 826 (a).)
Courts have held that the phrase "never to have occurred" means
that the juvenile proceeding is deemed not to have existed.
(Parmett v. Superior Court (Christal B.) (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d
1261, at 1267.)
3.What This Bill Would Do - Sealing Fees and Procedures
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This bill would limit specified existing fees for petitioning
the court to file juvenile records to persons 26 years of age or
older, as specified.
In addition, this bill would change the process and scope of
sealing juvenile records, generally to provide that specified
juvenile records would be sealed automatically at the time the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated as to the
person, instead of requiring a petition and a court order to
have these files sealed, as specified. The bill does not change
the sealing laws concerning minors adjudicated to have committed
a registerable sex offense or a serious or violent crime, as
specified. In addition, the bill does not change when juvenile
court records are destroyed.
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