BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 45
Author: Skinner (D), et al.
Amended: 5/15/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/19/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Sexual assault forensic exams: federal funding
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the United States Congress to
provide at least $35 million to the states in order for the
states to process evidence from sexual assault forensic exams.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.States the intent of the Legislature that a law enforcement
agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault
offenses should perform deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing of
rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely
manner in order to assure the longest possible statute of
limitations.
2.States if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA
evidence within the established time limits, a victim of a
sexual assault offense as specified, where the identity of the
perpetrator is in issue, shall be informed, either orally or
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in writing, of that fact by the law enforcement agency.
3.Requires, if the law enforcement agency intends to destroy or
dispose of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence
from an unsolved sexual assault case prior to the expiration
of the statute of limitations, a victim of sexual assault, as
specified, to be given written notification by the law
enforcement agency of that intention.
4.Provides that written notification shall be made at least 60
days prior to the destruction or disposal of the rape kit
evidence or other crime scene evidence from an unsolved sexual
assault case where the election not to analyze the DNA or the
destruction or disposal occurs prior to the expiration of the
statute of limitations.
5.States notwithstanding any other limitation of time described,
a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date
on which the identity of the suspect is conclusively
established by DNA testing, if both of the following
conditions are met:
A. The crime is one that requires the defendant to register
as a sex offender; and
B. The offense was committed prior to January 1, 2001, and
biological evidence collected in connection with the
offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than January 1,
2004, or the offense was committed on or after January 1,
2001, and biological evidence collected in connection with
the offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than two
years from the date of the offense.
1.States, notwithstanding any other limitation of time
described, prosecution for a specified felony sex offense
shall be commenced within 10 years after the commission of the
offense.
This resolution makes the following legislative findings:
1.Makes declarations regarding sexual violence and its impact on
society.
2.States that effective collection of forensic evidence is of
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paramount importance to successfully prosecuting sex
offenders, as is performing sexual assault forensic exams in a
sensitive, dignified, and victim-centered manner.
3.States that sexual assault forensic examinations are
intrusive, lengthy, and complex medical examinations that take
an average of three to four hours.
4.States that a victim who agrees to a sexual assault forensic
exam reasonably expects evidence collected from that exam,
also referred to as a rape kit, to be analyzed. Untested
evidence from a sexual assault forensic exam means lost
opportunities to develop DNA profiles, search for matches,
link cold cases, and bring justice and resolution to the
victim.
5.States that DNA can help identify unknown offenders, but most
sexual assaults are committed by persons known to the victim,
and, therefore, identity of the offender is not an issue in
most sexual assault cases. However, testing evidence from a
sexual assault forensic exam in those cases still has
evidentiary value because a DNA profile from the known suspect
can yield matches with other cases in which the suspect is
unknown, resulting in "cold hits" connecting the known suspect
to other crimes.
6.States that tens of thousands, and possibly over 100,000, rape
kits are likely sitting unprocessed in California crime labs
and law enforcement evidence lockers.
7.States that there is no statewide data, but local studies
provide insight into the scope of the problem. In 2008, Los
Angeles County had more than 12,000 untested rape kits in its
custody, and in 2012, Alameda County estimated their backlog
of untested rape kits to be almost 2,000.
8.States that delay in testing evidence collected from a sexual
assault forensic exam can also preclude criminal charges from
ever being filed against alleged rapists who are identified
long after their crimes. Existing law provides a 10-year
statute of limitation for most rape cases, but has an
exception allowing criminal charges to be filed within one
year of the date when a suspect is conclusively identified in
cases involving DNA evidence, as long as the DNA is analyzed
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within two years of the crime.
9.States that failure to test evidence collected from a sexual
assault forensic exam in a timely manner can be tragic, from
expired statutes of limitation that preclude prosecution even
if a suspect is later identified, to additional rape and
murder victims of serial rapists.
10.States that local jurisdictions that have implemented
mandatory testing policies for evidence collected from a
sexual assault forensic exam have impressive results to show
for their efforts. New York City tested 17,000 backlogged
rape kits in 2003 and implemented a policy to test every rape
kit in law enforcement custody, which led to 2,000 DNA
matches, 200 cold case prosecutions, and an increase in the
arrest rate for the crime of rape from 40% to 70%, compared to
24% nationally. Detroit, Michigan began testing a backlog of
over 11,000 untested rape kits, and has tested more than 2,000
kits, resulting in over 500 hits in the Combined DNA Index
System (CODIS). These CODIS matches have identified more than
100 potential serial rapists who are tied to rapes reported in
at least a dozen other states and the District of Columbia.
In 2003, Fort Worth, Texas began processing their backlog,
which led to 200 DNA matches in CODIS, and to 47 arrests, 36
felony convictions, and the apprehension of five serial
rapists.
11.States that California is committed to enacting systematic
reforms to address, once and for all, the backlog of evidence
collected from a sexual assault forensic exam through the
combination of new screening techniques that have been proven
by the state crime laboratory, which is operated by the
Department of Justice, greater resources for law enforcement
agencies, and a cooperative effort to provide justice to all
survivors of sexual assault. Federal funding is crucial to
help California put these new initiatives in place to address
this problem.
This resolution urges the United States Congress to provide at
least $35 million to the states in order for the states to
process evidence from sexual assault forensic exams.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/19/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Nazarian, Nestande, Vacancy
JG:e 5/28/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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