BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1295
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1295 (Nielsen)
As Amended June 27, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Melendez, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood, | |
| | |Chau | |
| | | | |
SB 1295
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Authorizes the use of documentary evidence for
purposes of satisfying the criteria used to evaluate whether a
prisoner released on parole is required to be treated by the
State Department of State Hospitals as a mentally disordered
offender (MDO). Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that in order to demonstrate that a prisoner is an
MDO, the existence or nature of the crime, for which the
prisoner has been convicted may be shown with documentary
evidence.
2)States that the details underlying the commission of the
offense that led to the conviction, including the use of force
or violence, causing serious bodily injury, or the threat to
use force or violence likely to produce substantial physical
harm, may be shown by documentary evidence, including, but not
limited to, preliminary hearing transcripts, trial
transcripts, probation and sentencing reports, and evaluations
by the State Department of State Hospitals.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires prisoners who meet the following criteria to be
deemed an MDO and treated by the State Department of State
Hospitals (DSH) as a condition of parole:
a) The inmate has a severe mental disorder;
b) The inmate used force or violence in committing the
underlying offense;
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c) The severe mental disorder was one of the causes or an
aggravating factor in the commission of the offense;
d) The disorder is not in remission or capable of being
kept in remission without treatment;
e) The inmate was treated for the disorder for at least 90
days in the year before the inmate's release; and,
f) By reason of the severe mental disorder, the inmate
poses a serious threat of physical harm to others.
2)Allows the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH), upon a showing of
good cause, to order the inmate to remain in custody for up to
45 days past the scheduled release date for a full MDO
evaluation.
3)Allows the prisoner to challenge the MDO determination both
administratively (a hearing before the board) and judicially
(a superior court jury trial).
4)Requires MDO treatment to be inpatient treatment unless there
is reasonable cause to believe that the parolee can be safely
and effectively treated on an outpatient basis. If the
hospital does not place the parolee on outpatient treatment
within 60 days of receiving custody of the parolee, he or she
may request to hearing to determine whether outpatient
treatment is appropriate.
5)Specifies that if the parolee's severe mental disorder is put
into remission during the parole period and can be kept that
way, the director of the hospital shall notify the BPH and
shall discontinue treatment.
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6)Allows the district attorney to file a petition with the
superior court seeking a one-year extension of the MDO
commitment.
7)Specifies that the cost of treatment for an MDO, whether
inpatient or outpatient, is a state expense while the person
is under the jurisdiction of either CDCR or the state
hospital.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Potential future trial court cost savings (General Fund) to
the extent the admissibility of documentary evidence reduces
the amount of time spent in trial, including the number and
complexity of appeals to decide evidentiary issues.
2)Minor, if any, fiscal impact to the Board of Parole Hearings
(BPH) and its existing MDO process.
3)Minor fiscal impact, if any on DHS.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "SB 1295 seeks to relieve
crime victims from being required to give traumatic testimony
during a parole hearing of their mentally disordered attacker.
The bill would amend the Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) Act
to allow admission of probation reports, trial transcripts, and
other documentary evidence. Under a 1994 court ruling, proof of
an offender's force, violence, or threat could be admitted into
a parole hearing through the testimony of an expert evaluator
(generally psychologists or psychiatrists) relying on probation
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reports, DSH evaluations and trial transcripts. This means the
evidence could be presented in an MDO parole hearing without
prosecutors re-victimizing crime victims.
"A 2015 California Supreme Court decision overturned the
allowance of expert testimony. Since then, expert testimony
based on documentary evidence could not be used to prove the
force, violence, or threat of an MDO's prior crime during a
parole hearing. This poses a problem because it forces the
prosecution to choose between victim 're-victimization' and
holding a hearing without full evidence. The absence of this
testimony could lead to the release of a parolee who with full
evidence would be shown to be an MDO. Consequently, prosecutors
are put in a tough place during an MDO parole hearing: ask a
victim to relive a traumatic experience, or risk releasing a
dangerous person who requires in-patient treatment.
"Fortunately, in its opinion, the California Supreme Court paved
the way for a solution. The ruling acknowledged that the
Legislature is free to create exceptions to the rules of
evidence as it has done in the SVP (Sexually Violent Predator)
context. SB 1295 is that solution. This bill will protect
victims in two ways - by relieving them of the obligation to
provide traumatic testimony in a parole hearing, and by helping
to prevent the release of dangerous offenders. This bill will
allow all evidence to be considered by allowing documentary
evidence to play a role in the parole hearings of mentally
disordered offenders."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
SB 1295
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David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0003789