AB 1610, as amended, Bonta. Material witnesses: human trafficking.
Existing law authorizes the defendant or the peoplebegin delete to apply for an order that a witness beend deletebegin insert, in cases where the defendant has been charged with a serious felony, as defined, or in a case of domestic violence, to have a witnessend insert examined conditionallybegin delete for a criminal trial in specified cases, including when the person is about to leave the state or is so sick or infirm that he or she will be unable to attend the trialend deletebegin insert, as specified, if there is evidence that the life of the witness is in jeopardyend insert.
This bill would authorize the defendant or the people to apply for an order that the witness be examined conditionally whenbegin delete the material witness is a victim of or witness to a felony prosecution involvingend deletebegin insert the defendant has been charged withend insert human traffickingbegin delete, commercial sex acts, or forced labor or servicesend deletebegin insert and there is evidence that the life of the witness is in jeopardy or that the witness has been threatened or dissuaded from testifying, or if the court finds there is a reasonable basis to believe that the witness will not attend the trialend insert.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 1335 of the end insertbegin insertPenal Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to
2read:end insert
(a) begin deleteWhen end deletebegin insertIf end inserta defendant has been charged with a public
4offense triable in any court, he or she in all cases, and the people
5in cases other than those for which the punishment may be death,
6may, if the defendant has been fully informed of his or her right
7to counsel as provided by law, have witnesses examined
8conditionally in his or her or their behalf, as prescribed in this
9chapter.
10(b) begin deleteWhen end deletebegin insertIf end inserta
defendant has been charged with a serious felony
11or in a case of domestic violence, the people or the defendant may,
12if the defendant has been fully informed of his or her right to
13counsel as provided by law, have a witness examined conditionally
14as prescribed in this chapter, if there is evidence that the life of the
15witness is in jeopardy.
16(c) As used in this section, “serious felony” means any of the
17felonies listed in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 or any violation
18of Section 11351, 11352, 11378, or 11379 of the Health and Safety
19Code.
20(c) If a defendant has been charged with human trafficking, as
21prescribed in Section 236.1, the people or the
defendant may, if
22the defendant has been fully informed of his or her right to counsel
23as provided by law, have a witness examined conditionally as
24prescribed in this chapter if any of the following apply:
25(1) There is evidence that the life of the witness is in jeopardy.
end insertbegin insert
26(2) There is evidence that the witness has been threatened or
27dissuaded from testifying at the trial.
28(3) The court finds that there is a reasonable basis to believe
29that the witness will not attend the trial.
30(d) If a defendant has been charged with a case of domestic
31violence and there is evidence that a victim or material witness
32has been or is being dissuaded by the defendant orbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert
aend insert person
33acting on behalf of the defendant, by intimidation or a physical
34threat, from cooperating with the prosecutor or testifying at trial,
35the people or the defendant may, if the defendant has been fully
36informed of his or her right to counsel as provided by law, have a
37witness examined conditionally as prescribed in this chapter.
P3 1(e) For the purposes of this section,begin delete “domesticend deletebegin insert the following
2definitions shall apply:end insert
3begin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insert“Domesticend insert violence” meansbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert
aend insert public offense arising
4from acts of domestic violence as defined in Section 13700.
5(2) “Serious felony” means a felony listed in subdivision (c) of
6Section 1192.7 or a violation of Section 11351, 11352, 11378, or
711379 of the Health and Safety Code.
Section 1336 of the Penal Code is amended to
9read:
(a) When a material witness for the defendant, or for
11the people, is about to leave the state, is so sick or infirm as to
12afford reasonable grounds for apprehension that he or she will be
13unable to attend the trial, is a person 65 years of age or older, a
14dependent adult, or is a victim of, or witness to, a felony
15prosecution involving human trafficking, commercial sex acts, or
16forced labor or services, the defendant or the
people may apply
17for an order that the witness be examined conditionally.
18(b) When there is evidence that the life of a witness is in
19jeopardy, the defendant or the people may apply for an order that
20the witness be examined conditionally.
21(c) As used in this section, “dependent adult” means a person
22who is between 18 and 65 years of age, inclusive, who has physical
23or mental limitations
that restrict his or her ability to carry out
24normal activities or to protect his or her rights, including, but not
25limited to, persons who have physical or developmental disabilities
26or whose physical or mental abilities have diminished because of
27age. “Dependent adult” includes any person between 18 and 65
28years of age, inclusive, who is admitted as an inpatient to a 24-hour
29facility, as defined in Sections 1250, 1250.2, and 1250.3 of the
30Health and Safety Code.
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