BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1432
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1432 (Mitchell) - As Amended: January 4, 2012
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 4-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill, to be known as "Caylee's Law," (named after the
deceased two-year-old daughter in the infamous 2008 Casey
Anthony case) makes it a misdemeanor for a parent or guardian to
fail to report to law enforcement the disappearance or death of
a child under the age of 14 within 24 hours. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county
jail and/or a fine of up to $20,000, for a parent or guardian
with custody or control of a child under 14 to fail to notify
law enforcement within 24 hours of the death or disappearance
of the child if the child died or disappeared under
circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe a
crime may have occurred, or that the child may be in danger of
physical harm.
2)Makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in
county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, for a parent or
guardian with custody or care of a child under 14 to fail to
notify law enforcement within 24 hours of the disappearance of
the child.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown minor state GF trial costs for creating a new
misdemeanor, with the accompanying court costs, including
courtroom and administrative staff. Costs would depend on the
number of defendants, length and depth of proceedings, and
whether a case goes to trial. For example, if three persons
annually were charged for the offense created by this bill,
AB 1432
Page 2
resulting in an average of two days of court time and costs,
annual state GF trial costs could be in the range of $25,000.
2)Unknown, likely minor non-reimbursable local incarceration
and/or probation costs to the extent anyone is convicted under
this section.
3)Under correctional realignment instituted in 2011, the
creation of new misdemeanors should be viewed in a new light.
Counties are taking on significant new responsibilities for
housing and supervising felons. New misdemeanors place
additional pressure on counties to identify additional
programs, including incarceration and probation, at a time
when jail and program space - and attendant staffing - will be
at a premium in many counties. While the fiscal and
programmatic consequences of most new misdemeanors are likely
to be relatively minor, any additional cumulative pressure on
realignment efforts merits careful consideration.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The author contends this bill addresses a Penal
Code gap whereby parents and guardians are not required to
expeditiously report a dead or missing child, which can
complicate and hinder investigation and recovery.
2)Casey Anthony was charged with murder following the
disappearance of her two-year-old daughter Caylee in Florida
in June 2008. She did not report Caylee missing for 31 days
before telling police that a fictitious babysitter had
kidnapped the child. She maintained the same story to her
family and authorities until the child's skeletal remains were
discovered six months later in a woods not far from the family
home.
Anthony was acquitted of murder, but convicted of four charges
of lying to police. Her defense was that Caylee drowned in the
family pool, that she panicked, and that her father, a former
police officer, helped her cover up the death by placing the
child's body in the woods. The grandfather denied his role in
the story.
AB 1432
Page 3
Media coverage of the verdict fueled an emotional nationwide
response and led to an Oklahoma woman starting a petition on
the activist website Change.org calling for a federal Caylee's
Law that has garnered more than 1.3 million signatures to
date. In addition, more than a dozen states have introduced or
passed versions of Caylee's Law.
3)As have other mandatory reporting requirements, Caylee's Law
proposals have drawn criticism on several fronts .
a) Deterrent value. Is a parent who is complicit in the
murder or abduction of a child likely to be deterred by a
law criminalizing failure to expeditiously report?
b) Prosecution/investigation value. Presumably authorities
would have to Mirandize the parent or guardian in question
regarding the lack of expeditious reporting. Would this not
impede investigation of the parent/guardian? Would it
discourage reporting and cooperation?
c) Time-frames and enforcement. When does the 24-hour clock
begin? When does a parent know a child is missing? Does the
clock begin at the time of death, or at the time the death
was discovered?
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081