BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 823 (Block) - Criminal procedure: human trafficking
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|Version: March 31, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 823 would allow a defendant arrested, adjudicated,
or convicted of any non-violent offense committed while he or
she was a victim of human trafficking to petition the court for
relief, including dismissal of the conviction or adjudication
and the sealing of the related arrest and court records, as
specified. This bill would require the court to notify the
Department of Justice (DOJ) of such orders.
Fiscal
Impact:
New petitions for relief : Potential major ongoing increase in
court workload (General Fund*) for new filings for relief due
to 1) the expanded population of individuals eligible to file
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to include those arrested or adjudicated, 2) the extension of
relief for any non-violent offense, and 3) revising the
standard under which individuals may petition. Over 740,000
misdemeanor dispositions occur annually. To the extent even
one percent or 7,400 new petitions are filed as a result of
this measure would result in increased court costs of $1.5
million, assuming 15 minutes of court time per petition. For
context, for the non-violent offense of misdemeanor
prostitution alone, over 10,000 arrests are made each year.
While the number of individuals ultimately eligible for relief
may be limited, more individuals may file petitions for court
review than are eligible.
Petitioner options to appear : Potentially significant costs
(General Fund*) to individual courts to the extent petitioners
allowed to appear via telephone, video or other electronic
means causes scheduling delays and/or operational costs. A
court may have various means established to conduct hearings
but may not necessarily be implementing them or utilizing them
on a full-time basis.
Sealing of arrest records : Potentially significant
non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs to seal arrest
records of petitioners. The CHP has indicated minor and
absorbable costs (Special Fund**).
DOJ : Minor ongoing costs (General Fund) to receive court
notifications of relief granted.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
**Motor Vehicle Account
Background: Existing law allows a court, upon making a finding that a
defendant has been convicted of solicitation or prostitution as
a result of his or her status as a victim of human trafficking,
to issue an order that does all of the following:
Sets forth a finding that the petitioner was a victim of
human trafficking when he or she committed the offense.
Orders expungement relief.
Notifies the DOJ that the petitioner was a victim of
human trafficking when he or she committed the offense and
the relief that has been ordered by the court.
Prohibits the DOJ from disseminating the petitioner's
record of conviction for specified licensing, employment,
and certification requirements. (Penal Code § 1203.49.)
This bill seeks to extend the relief available under existing
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law to arrests for and dismissals of any conviction or
adjudication for non-violent offenses committed as direct result
of or in clear connection with a human trafficking scheme of
which a person was a victim.
Proposed Law:
This bill would allow a defendant arrested, adjudicated, or
convicted of any non-violent offense committed while he or she
was a victim of human trafficking to petition the court for
relief. Specifically, this bill:
Extends the relief available under PC § 1203.49 for
dismissal of adult prostitution convictions suffered by
human trafficking victims to dismissal of any non-violent
offenses (offenses not listed in PC § 667.5(c)) committed
as a direct result of or in clear connection with a human
trafficking scheme of which the person was a victim.
Extends the expanded relief for dismissal of non-violent
human trafficking offenses to a person who was subject to
juvenile court adjudications for such an offense.
Provides that where a human trafficking victim is
granted dismissal of an adult conviction or a juvenile
adjudication suffered as a result of the person's status as
a human trafficking victim, the arrest and court records of
that offense shall be sealed.
Provides that a person who was arrested for a crime
allegedly committed while the person was a human
trafficking victim may petition for a judicial finding of
his or her status as a human trafficking victim at the time
of the offense and an order that the arrest record be
sealed.
Provides that the following standards and procedures
shall apply in a petition for relief by a human trafficking
victim from the consequences of an arrest and/or
conviction:
o The petition shall be made and heard within a
reasonable time after the person ceased being a human
trafficking victim or receiving services as a human
trafficking victim, subject to concerns about at-risk
family members or other human trafficking victims.
o Official documentation of the petitioner's
victim status shall create a presumption that the
person's offenses were the result of her or his status
as a victim of human trafficking.
o Official documentation is that issued by a
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government agency that tends to show the petitioner's
status as a human trafficking victim.
o The petitioner, or counsel, is not required to
appear in person at a hearing for relief, but may
appear telephonically, via videoconference, or by
other electronic means established by the court.
o A petitioner granted relief under this law may
lawfully deny or refuse to acknowledge an arrest,
conviction or adjudication as to which relief was
granted and his or her records shall not be
distributed to any state licensing board.
o The record of a proceeding for relief that is
publically accessible shall not include the full name
of the petitioner.
o A court may take any additional appropriate
action to carry out the purposes of this law
o Denial of a petition on grounds of
insufficient evidence of the petitioner's victim
status shall be without prejudice and the court shall
state the reasons for denial on the record and allow
the petitioner reasonable time to cure the
deficiencies in the petition.
o Specifies that "non-violent offense" is one
not listed in PC § 667.5(c).
Prior
Legislation: AB 1585 (Alejo) Chapter 708/2014 authorizes a
defendant who has been convicted of solicitation or
prostitution, and has completed a term of probation, to petition
the court to set aside the conviction if the defendant can
establish by clear and convincing evidence that the conviction
was a result of his or her status as a victim of human
trafficking.
AB 795 (Alejo) 2013 was substantially similar to AB 1595
(Alejo). This bill was held on the Suspense File of the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
Staff
Comments: By significantly expanding the population of
individuals eligible to petition the court for relief to include
not only those victims of human trafficking that have been
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convicted of the offenses of solicitation or prostitution, but
persons that have been arrested, convicted, or adjudicated for
numerous non-violent offenses committed as a result of or in
clear connection with a human trafficking scheme, the provisions
of this measure could result in a significant increase in
petitions to the court.
As noted in the Attorney General's report, The State of Human
Trafficking in California (2012), "It remains a key challenge to
identify the scope of human trafficking in California, as
statistical data on victims, arrests, and convictions are
unreliable. As described in the 2007 report, the crime itself is
hidden and under-reported." The AG report identified nearly
1,300 victims of human trafficking for the two year period
ending mid-2012. Additional data reported to the National Human
Trafficking Resource Center indicates over 3,150 cases of human
trafficking reported in California over four years through 2015.
The case figures do not, however, indicate the number of victims
related to each case.
Based on the 2015 Court Statistics Report of Statewide Caseload
Trends, misdemeanor filings reached a total of 915,568 cases,
while misdemeanor dispositions numbered 740,790. While it is
unknown what percentage of annual misdemeanor dispositions may
prompt petitions for relief under the provisions of this bill,
DOJ arrest data over five years indicate about 10,000 arrests
annually for misdemeanor prostitution (PC § 647(b)) alone. To
the extent even one percent of annual misdemeanor dispositions,
or 7,400 new petitions are filed as a result of this measure
would result in increased court costs of $1.5 million, assuming
15 minutes of court time per petition ($837/hour of court time).
Additionally, while the number of individuals ultimately
eligible for relief may be limited, it is likely that more
individuals will file petitions for court review than are
eligible.
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