BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2263
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 8, 2012
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2263 (Bradford) - As Amended: May 2, 2012
SUMMARY : Clarifies that the court, in its discretion and in the
interests of justice, may grant expungement relief for a
petitioner sentenced to county jail for all or part of his or
her sentence if the petitioner meets specified conditions.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Applies to defendants sentenced for a nonserious, nonviolent,
or nonsexual offense to county jail for his or her full
sentence or sentenced to county jail for all but a concluding
portion of his or her term during which time the defendant is
subject to mandatory supervision.
2)Requires the defendant to have fulfilled the conditions of
probation for the entire period of probation or to have been
discharged prior to the termination of the period of
probation.
3)Requires that the defendant is not at the time of the petition
serving a sentence for any offense, on probation for any
offense, or charged with the commission of any offense.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides in any case in which a defendant has fulfilled the
conditions of probation for the entire period of probation, or
has been discharged prior to the termination of probation, or
in any other case in which a court, in its discretion and the
interests of justice, determines that a defendant should be
granted relief, the defendant shall, at any time after the
termination of the period of probation, if he or she is not
then serving a sentence for any offense, on probation for any
offense, or charged with the commission of any offense, be
permitted by the court to withdraw his or her plea of guilty
or plea of nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty; or,
if he or she has been convicted after a plea of not guilty,
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the court shall set aside the verdict of guilty; and, in
either case, the court shall thereupon dismiss the accusations
or information against the defendant. �Penal Code Section
1203.4(a).]
2)Provides that in any subsequent prosecution of the defendant
for any other offense, the prior conviction may be pleaded and
proved and shall have the same effect as if probation had not
been granted or the accusation or information dismissed.
�Penal Code Section 1203.4(a).]
3)States that an order of dismissal does not relieve the
petitioner of the obligation to disclose the conviction in
response to any questions contained in any questionnaire or
application for public office, or for licensure for any state
or local agency. �Penal Code Section 1203.4(a).]
4)Prohibits expungement of the record of conviction for persons
convicted of any misdemeanor relating to a failure to stop and
submit to inspection of equipment or for an unsafe condition
endangering a person, specified sex offenses, any felony
conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under
the age of 16, or for any infraction. �Penal Code Section
1203.4(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "In this tough
economic downturn, the number of people seeking expungements
to clean up their criminal records has increased
significantly; as most job seekers find past convictions are a
significant barrier to finding employment.
"Job seekers are currently unable to address the problem as
realignment created new categories of lower-level offenses
that are not addressed in existing expungement statutes. AB
2263 will allow a person who is sentenced under the new
Realignment laws--because he/she is convicted of a lower-level
felony and has no prior convictions for serious, violent, or
sex offenses--to petition for expungement after completion of
the sentence. The court will have discretion to grant the
expungement in the interests of justice."
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2)Background : According to the background information provided
by the author, "Criminal Justice Realignment constituted a
significant overhaul of California's criminal justice system.
Its wide sweep impacted many existing laws. While many gaps
have been redressed by clean-up legislation, some remain,
including in the area of criminal record remedies, commonly
called 'expungement.'
"Realignment created new categories of lower-level offenses that
are not addressed in existing expungement statues. Filling in
this missing piece is critically important if California is
going to achieve Realignment's stated goals of reducing
recidivism and facilitating reintegration. Moreover, now that
counties are taking greater responsibility for corrections,
they must be able to utilize all effective policy tools in
order to optimize scarce resources. Expungement is critical
because it enables people who have served their sentences and
demonstrated rehabilitation to clean up their records. This
will increase their increase opportunities to find stable jobs
and housing, factors proven to reduce recidivism and increase
self-sufficiency. This proposal clarifies that people
sentenced under Realignment are eligible for expungement,
thereby improving reentry outcomes and efficiency in public
safety spending."
3)Argument in Support : According to the Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area , "The recently
enacted Criminal Justice Realignment laws created new
sentences for lower-level offenses. Current expungment law
does not address these new sentences, leaving a significant
gap in coverage. Addressing this gap is extremely important
if California is going to achieve Realignment's goals of
reducing recidivism and facilitating reintegration.
Expungement is critical to these goals. It enables people who
have served their sentences and demonstrated rehabilitation to
clean up their records so they can access stable jobs and
housing, factors that are proven to reduce recidivism and
increase self-sufficiency. Additionally, now that counties
are taking greater responsibility for corrections, they must
be able to maximize scare resources by utilizing all effective
reentry policy tools, including expungement.
"AB 2263 clarifies that people given local sentences under
Realignment are eligible to petition for expungement under
Penal Code Section 1203.4. As required under the Realignment
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laws, only people convicted of lower-level offenses who have
no prior serious, violent, or sex offense convictions will
receive these new sentences and therefore be eligible for
expungement. Further, while this bill provides the
opportunity to petition for expungement, the court will have
discretion to grant or deny the petition, and may grant it
only where expungement serves the interests of justice."
4)Argument in Opposition : According to the California District
Attorneys Office , "Currently, pursuant to PC 1203.4, a
defendant who was placed on probation for a conviction may
have that conviction expunged. A conviction for which a
defendant was sentenced to prison (which necessarily means
that probation was denied) cannot be expunged. PC 1203.4
applies only to defendants admitted to probation. (People v.
Borja (1980) 110 Cal.App.3d 378; People v. Mendez (1991) 234
Cal.App.3d 1773.)
"Felons now sentenced under realignment are similarly situated
to felons sentenced to prison, except that they serve their
sentences in county jail instead of in state prison.
Conversely, felons sentenced under realignment are not
similarly situated to probationers. Felons sentenced pursuant
to PC 1170(h) are those who have been found not suitable for
probation, which typically means that the felon has a
significant criminal history. PC 1170(h) felons are not
similarly situated to felons on probation because they have
been sentenced to incarceration. As such, the simple change
to where a sentenced felon is housed effectuated by
realignment is not appropriate grounds to afford such
offenders the relief made available by PC 1203.4."
5)Related Legislation :
a) AB 109 (Committee on Budget). Chapter 15, Statutes of
2011, realigned responsibilities for certain parolees and
newly convicted offenders deemed to be non-violent,
non-serious and non-sex offenders from state to local
jurisdictions.
b) AB 2371 (Butler) authorizes a court to grant restorative
relief to a veteran that meets specified criteria and in
part expungement relief pursuant to Penal Code Section
1203.4. AB 2371 is pending a vote on the Assembly Floor.
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c) AB 2040 (Swanson) allows a person adjudicated a ward of
the court or a person convicted of prostitution to have his
or her record sealed or conviction expunged without showing
that he or she has not been subsequently convicted or that
he or she has been rehabilitated. AB 2040 is on the
Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.
d) AB 1384 (Bradford), Chapter 284, Statutes of 2011,
allows a court, in its discretion and in the interest of
justice, to determine that a defendant, who has been
convicted of a misdemeanor and not granted probation or an
infraction, should be granted expungement relief after the
lapse of one year from the date of pronouncement of the
judgment; and establishes that these expungement provisions
shall not apply to a person who is convicted of a
misdemeanor lewd and lascivious act on a child 14 or 15
years old when the perpetrator was 10 or more years older
than the victim.
6)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 2068 (Hill), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session,
would have authorized the court, in its discretion and in
the interest of justice, to afford a defendant expungement
from a former misdemeanor conviction in cases where
probation was not granted. AB 2068 was vetoed.
b) AB 2582 (Adams) Chapter 99, Statutes of 2010, permitted
defendants convicted of infractions, except certain motor
vehicle related infractions, to seek dismissal of charges
and release from all penalties and disabilities resulting
from them.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Civil Liberties Union (Sponsor)
A New Way of Life Reentry Project
California Public Defenders Association
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
City and County of San Francisco Adult Probation Department
Congress of Racial Equality of California
Drug Policy Alliance
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East Bay Community Law Center
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
National Employment Law Project
Rubicon Programs
San Francisco Branch of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People
Watsonville Law Center
Opposition
California District Attorneys Association
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744