BILL NUMBER: AB 593	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ma

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2011

   An act to amend Section 1109 of the Evidence Code, relating to
domestic violence.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 593, as introduced, Ma. Domestic violence: evidence.
   Under existing law, evidence of a person's character or a trait of
his or her character is generally inadmissible when offered to prove
his or her conduct on a specified occasion. Existing law provides,
however, that when a defendant is accused of domestic violence in a
criminal action, evidence of the defendant's prior acts of domestic
violence may be admissible under specified circumstances.
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1109 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   1109.  (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in a
criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense
involving domestic violence, evidence of the defendant's commission
of other domestic violence is not made inadmissible by Section 1101
if the evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352.
   (2) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in a criminal
action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving
abuse of an elder or dependent person, evidence of the defendant's
commission of other abuse of an elder or dependent person is not made
inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is not inadmissible
pursuant to Section 352.
   (3) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f) and subject to a
hearing conducted pursuant to Section 352, which shall include
consideration of any corroboration and remoteness in time, in a
criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense
involving child abuse, evidence of the defendant's commission of
child abuse is not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence
is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352. Nothing in this
paragraph prohibits or limits the admission of evidence pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 1101.
   (b) In an action in which evidence is to be offered under this
section, the people shall disclose the evidence to the defendant,
including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance of
any testimony that is expected to be offered, in compliance with the
provisions of Section 1054.7 of the Penal Code.
   (c) This section shall not be construed to limit or preclude the
admission or consideration of evidence under any other statute or
case law.
   (d) As used in this section:
   (1) "Abuse of an elder or dependent person" means physical or
sexual abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation,
abduction, or other treatment that results in physical harm, pain, or
mental suffering, the deprivation of care by a caregiver, or other
deprivation by a custodian or provider of goods or services that are
necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering.
   (2) "Child abuse" means an act proscribed by Section 273d of the
Penal Code.
   (3) "Domestic violence" has the meaning set forth in Section 13700
of the Penal Code. Subject to a hearing conducted pursuant to
Section 352, which shall include consideration of any corroboration
and remoteness in time, "domestic violence" has the further meaning
 as  set forth in Section 6211 of the Family Code,
if the act occurred no more than five years before the charged
offense.
   (e) Evidence of acts occurring more than 10 years before the
charged offense is inadmissible under this section, unless the court
determines that the admission of this evidence is in the interest of
justice.
   (f) Evidence of the findings and determinations of administrative
agencies regulating the conduct of health facilities licensed under
Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code is inadmissible under this
section.