BILL ANALYSIS
AB 806
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 806 (Fuentes)
As Amended May 20, 2009
2/3 vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 5-2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Solorio, Furutani, Hill, | | |
| |Ma, Skinner | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Hagman, Anderson | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |44-32|(June 2, 2009) |SENATE: |23-14|(September 2, |
| | | | | |2009) |
| | | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires that courts advise defendants, if they are
deported from the United States (U.S.) and return illegally,
that they could be charged with a separate federal offense.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that judges admonish defendants by stating the
following: "If you are deported from the United States and
return illegally, you could be charged with a separate federal
offense for illegal re-entry into the United States [under
specified code sections] which impose harsh penalties."
2)Specifies that the admonition shall only apply to pleas taken
subsequent to January 1, 2010, and this act shall not apply
retroactively.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Guilty and no contest
pleas are often treated as just routine procedure, especially in
AB 806
Page 2
extremely busy courtrooms. In fact, a guilty/no contest plea is
a very serious legal proceeding, during which a number of
substantial constitutional rights are given up.
"There are also serious potential collateral consequences
associated with entering guilty/no contest pleas. One such
consequence is the possibility of deportation for some
defendants. Although the law has evolved to now require that,
for a plea to be valid, the judge must advise the defendant of
this potential consequence, defendants are NOT routinely advised
of the potential consequences of reentering the United States if
they are deported.
"The potential consequence of illegally reentering the United
States is prosecution in federal court, with a substantial
prison sentence. This is a potential consequence of entering a
guilty/no contest plea that defendants should be aware of before
deciding how to proceed in a criminal case."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
"This bill would require the court to advise a defendant that if
he or she is deported from the United States and returns
illegally, he or she could be charged with federal offenses, as
specified. All criminal convictions have the potential to
adversely affect a defendant who thereafter commits further
crimes. There is simply no reason for state courts to admonish
a defendant on the consequences of committing future, potential
federal crimes."
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
AB 806
Page 3
FN: 0003345