BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1295


                                                                    Page  1





          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1295 (Nielsen)


          As Amended  June 27, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  39-0


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |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


                                                                    Page  2





          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          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;









                                                                    SB 1295


                                                                    Page  3






             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.  








                                                                    SB 1295


                                                                    Page  4







          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  








                                                                    SB 1295


                                                                    Page  5





          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


                                                                    Page  6





                          David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744   
          FN: 0003789