BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1088
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Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
SB
1088 (Nguyen) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUMMARY: Increases the penalty for concealing an accidental
death from a misdemeanor to an alternate felony-misdemeanor.
Specifically, this bill:
1)States that if the crime of concealing an accidental death is
punished as a misdemeanor, then it is punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or
by a fine of at least $1,000 and up to $10,000, or by both.
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2)States that if the crime of concealing an accidental death is
punished as a felony, then the punishment is imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine of
at least $1,000 and up to $10,000, or by both.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of up to one
year, or a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000, or both, to
actively conceal an accidental death, or attempt to do so.
(Pen. Code, § 152, subd. (a).)
2)States that to conceal an accidental death means to do one of
the following:
a) Perform an overt act that conceals the body or directly
impedes the ability of authorities or family members to
discover the body;
b) Directly destroy or suppress evidence of the actual
physical body of the deceased, including, but not limited
to, bodily fluids or tissues; or,
c) Destroy or suppress the actual physical instrumentality
of death. (Pen. Code, § 152, subd. (b).)
3)Provides that any person who, after the commission of a
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felony, harbors, conceals, or aides the perpetrator in such a
felony, with the intent to help the perpetrator escape arrest
or prosecution is an accessory to the felony. (Pen. Code, §
32.)
4)Punishes an accessory as alternate felony-misdemeanor, or by a
fine of up to $5,000, or both fine and imprisonment. (Pen.
Code, § 33.)
5)States that, except in a case where a different punishment is
prescribed, a person who, having knowledge of the commission
of a crime, takes money or anything of value, or promise
thereof, in exchange for concealing that crime, or abstaining
from prosecution, or for withholding any evidence, is
punishable as follows:
a) If the crime was punishable by death or imprisonment in
the state prison for life; by imprisonment in a county jail
not exceeding one year, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170;
b) If the crime was punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for any other term than life; by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding six months, or pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170; and,
c) If the crime was a misdemeanor, by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding six months, or by fine of up to
$1,000. (Pen. Code, § 153.)
6)States that the punishment for a felony which is not otherwise
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proscribed in a different statute, a felony is punishable by
16 months, or 2 or 3 years in state prison, unless the offense
is punishable in county jail under realignment. (Pen. Code, §
18, subd. (a).)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "SB 1088 would
provide an appropriate avenue to address the current
sentencing structure by increasing the consequences for anyone
who moves a body after an accidental death. If this bill is
not passed, families of the victims of body dumping will
remain negatively impacted by the law. Therefore a pathway to
allow judges discretion in the classification of a crime, as a
misdemeanor or a felony, is essential to resolving the issue
of body dumping. By increasing the crime to a felony, the
statute of limitations would extend from one to three years.
This would provide more time for authorities to hold those
responsible for body concealment."
2)Impetus for this Bill: Erica Alonso, a Laguna Hills resident,
was the inspiration for this bill. Ms. Alonso went missing in
February of this year, and her body was found about two months
later in a remote spot in Cleveland National Forest. An
autopsy concluded Ms. Alonso died of an overdose, consisting
of a combination of a lethal dose of alcohol and drugs. Ms.
Alonso's car was found far from the scene, in a neighborhood
of Aliso Viejo. As a result, it has been suggested that
someone moved her body.
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( http://www.ocweekly.com/news/erica-alonso-saga-inspires-body-d
umping-bill-by-state-sen-janet-nguyen-6992400# )
The person who may have moved the body has not been identified.
However, assuming the body was moved, the existing penalty for
such an act is up to one year in jail and a potential fine of
up to $10,000. The background provided by the author notes
that the community is frustrated that any person who might
have concealed the body faces only misdemeanor punishment.
Notably, Penal Code section 152 does not apply to a person who
caused the death. Penal Code section 152 also does not apply
to a person who is an accessory after the commission of a
crime. SB 139 (Johnson), Chapter 396, Statutes of 1999, which
created the crime of concealing an accidental death, also
initially sought to punish the offense as an alternate
felony-misdemeanor. However at that time, the Legislature
deemed that misdemeanor punishment was more appropriate.
Should the punishment for this crime now be increased based on
a single incident of which all the facts are not yet
established?
3)Jail Overcrowding: According to a December 2014 report by the
Stanford Criminal Justice Center at Stanford Law School titled
Court Ordered Population Caps in California Jails,
California's county jails are facing increasing adult daily
populations. Many counties are facing capacity constraints on
their population. The report notes:
"Currently, 19 of the 58 California county jail
systems (33%) are operating under a court-ordered
population cap (see Figure 2). Court-ordered
population caps are typically issued at a facility
level rather than a county level (as many counties
operate several jail facilities) and a significant
share of California jail facilities currently have a
population cap. According to the Board of State and
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Community Corrections (BSCC) Jail Profile Survey data,
as of March 2014 of the 119 county jail facilities, 39
facilities (33%) were operating under a court-ordered
population cap. Most notably, as of the beginning of
2014, nearly two-thirds (65%) of jail inmates in
California are in custody in counties with a
population cap. And because these court orders have
been in place for decades, the share of inmates in
counties with population orders has been relatively
stable since the data started being collected. Given
that several of the largest counties are under court
orders, including Los Angeles, Riverside, San
Bernardino, and San Diego, it is not surprising that
such a large share of California's jail inmates are in
custody in cap counties. These increased pressures on
California jails have occurred in a relatively short
period of time and counties have been forced to make
difficult decisions about how to manage their growing
jail populations." (Court-Ordered Population Caps in
California County Jails, p. 6.
(< http://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/defa
ult/files/child-page/183091/doc/slspublic/Jail%20popn%2
0caps%201.15.15.pdf >)
Given the concerns about jail overcrowding in many counties,
should the punishment for concealing an accidental death be
increased to allow for up to three years in jail?
4)Argument in Support: According to the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department, "Current law makes it a misdemeanor for
a person who has knowledge of an accidental death to actively
conceal or attempt to conceal that death by concealing the
body. While in most instances the penalty is appropriate,
there are some cases where significant malfeasance has taken
place.
"Not only does the act of concealing or moving a body create
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significant challenges for law enforcement when investigating
an accidental death, the act also prevents the family members
of the deceased from receiving the closure needed when losing
a loved one.
"This bill appropriately provides prosecutors with the
discretion to raise the penalty from a misdemeanor to a
penalty when necessary."
5)Argument in Opposition: According to the California Public
Defenders Association, "SB 1088 seeks to increase the
punishment for a violation of Penal Code § 152 (concealing
accidental death) from a misdemeanor to a felony. Currently, §
152 is punishable as a misdemeanor and by a year in jail. SB
1088 seeks to permit the offense to be charged as a felony and
to triple the punishment (up to three years in jail). It is
important to note that § 152 only deals with accidental deaths
- deaths that are the result of criminal conduct are not
affected by this statute. Consequently, SB 1088 does not
address a statute which arguably contributes to public safety
- instead SB 1088 merely promises to add to the list of
non-violent Californian's convicted of felonies and to
contribute to our incarceration crisis, all without adding
anything of real benefit. Because SB 1088 fails to contribute
to public safety, drastically increases jail sentences for
non-violent conduct and increases the rolls of non-violent
Californians whose lives will be ruined by felony convictions,
this bill is out of step with meaningful criminal justice
reform."
6)Prior Legislation:
a) AB 1432 (Mitchell), Chapter 805, Statutes of 2012,
requires a parent or guardian to report to law enforcement
the death or disappearance of a child, and punishes a
violation as a misdemeanor, or by a fine of up to $1,000,
or both.
b) SB 139 (Johnson) Chapter 396, Statutes of 1999, provides
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that a person who actively conceals an accidental death, as
defined, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
c) SB 140 (Johnson) of the 1999-2000 Legislative session,
would have created criminal penalties for failing to report
an accidental death. SB 140 failed passage in the Senate
Committee on Public Safety.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Anaheim Police Department
California State Sheriffs' Association
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Orange County District Attorney's Office
Orange County Sheriff's Department
Santa Ana Police Department
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union of California
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California Public Defenders Association
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Analysis Prepared by:Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744