BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1900
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 25, 2014
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1900 (Quirk) - As Introduced: February 19, 2014
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Allows a court to preserve testimony by any means of
video-recording that complies with specified recording and
preservation requirements as opposed to videotape only.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that when a defendant is charged with specified sex
offenses, child abuse, lewd and lascivious acts on a child
under the age of 14, or continuous sex abuse of a child, and
the victim either is a person 15 years of age or less or is
developmentally disabled as a result of an intellectual
disability, as specified, the people may apply for an order
that the victim's testimony at the preliminary hearing, in
addition to being stenographically recorded, be recorded and
preserved on videotape. (Pen. Code, � 1346, subd. (a).)
2)States that at the time of trial the court finds that further
testimony in any of the qualifying cases would cause the
victim emotional trauma so that the victim is medically
unavailable or otherwise unavailable within the statutory
definition of unavailability, the court may admit the
videotape of the victim's testimony at the preliminary
hearing, as specified. (Pen. Code, � 1346, subd. (d).)
3)Provides that when a defendant is charged with spousal rape or
infliction of corporal injury resulting in a traumatic injury
to a spouse, former spouse, or domestic partner, the people
may apply for an order that the victim's testimony at the
preliminary hearing, in addition to being stenographically
recorded, be recorded and preserved on videotape. (Pen. Code,
� 1346.1, subd. (a).)
4)Allows, in cases where a minor, 13 years or younger, will
testify that a sexual offense was committed against or with
AB 1900
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the minor, or that the minor was a victim of a violent felony,
as defined, that the minor may testify by way of
contemporaneous examination and cross examination in another
location and communicated to the courtroom by closed-circuit
television if the court finds that the impact on the minor of
one or more of the following is shown by clear and convincing
evidence to make the minor unavailable as a witness unless
closed-circuit television is used:
a) Testimony by the minor in the presence of the defendant
would result in the child suffering serious emotional
distress so that the child would be unavailable as a
witness;
b) The defendant used a deadly weapon in the commission of
the offense;
c) Threats of serious bodily injury to be inflicted on the
minor or a family member, of incarceration or deportation
of the minor or a family member, or of removal of the minor
from the family or dissolution of the family in order to
prevent or dissuade the minor from attending or giving
testimony at any trial or court proceeding or to prevent
the minor from reporting the alleged sexual offense or from
assisting in the prosecution;
d) The defendant inflicted great bodily injury upon the
child in the commission of the offense; and,
e) The defendant or his or her counsel behaved during the
hearing or trial in a way that caused the minor to be
unable to continue his or her testimony. (Pen. Code �
1347, subd, (b).)
5)Provides that when a defendant is charged with specified sex
offenses, child abuse, lewd and lascivious acts on a child
under the age of 14, or continuous sex abuse of a child, or an
attempt to commit one of these crimes upon a person with a
disability the court in its discretion may make accommodations
to support the person, and the prosecutor may apply for an
order that the testimony of the person with a disability at
the preliminary hearing, in addition to being stenographically
recorded, be recorded and preserved on videotape. (Pen. Code,
� 1347.5, subds, (b) & (c).)
AB 1900
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "In limited sex
offense cases, current law allows victims' testimony to be
taken at a preliminary hearing to be recorded and preserved on
"videotape" (VHS.) Victims who are younger than 16,
developmentally disabled, or who have suffered rape or
corporal injury at the hands of a spouse when certain
circumstances are met, can have their testimony recorded and
presented on VHS in front of the judge, defense, and jury at
trial.
"According to statute, videotapes, not video-recordings, of
testimony are allowed to be shown when the court finds further
in-person testimony would cause the victim severe emotional
trauma. However VHS is quickly becoming an antiquated form of
technology.
"Most video cameras manufactured today record to a hard drive
or another type of removable media card. Advances in
technology have enabled cameras and video cameras to make
digital video recordings. To use any other form of video,
such as a digital recording, the District Attorney,
prosecuting the case may need to put the request in writing,
notice the defense attorney, and litigate the issue in front
of the judge. This can unnecessarily delay the trial at a
time when our courts are already inundated with cases.
"AB 1900 updates the California Penal Code by changing the
word "videotape" to "video-recording" as it relates to
testimony in limited but traumatic cases."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alameda County District Attorney (Sponsor)
California State Sheriffs' Association
AB 1900
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California Police Chiefs Association
California District Attorneys Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744