BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2411
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2411 (Bonta) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Attorney General (AG), on or before
January 1, 2016, to develop a set of guidelines governing
collection of eyewitness evidence in showups, photo arrays, and
live lineups, by collecting and reviewing current best practices
to reduce the misidentification of persons in eyewitness
lineups.
Requires the AG, in developing eyewitness guidelines, to
specifically take into account local procedures that prohibit a
person familiar with the identity of a suspect from being
present while the lineup is conducted.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time GF staffing costs in the range of $200,000 for DOJ to
develop guidelines.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill reflects recommendations of the CA
Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice to address
problems related to erroneous eyewitness identification by
developing and adopting standards and guidelines recommended
by the American Bar Association (ABA), the U.S. Department of
Justice and the commission.
2)Recommendations of the CA Commission on the Fair
Administration of Justice . Established by SR 44 (Burton) in
2004, the bipartisan commission, chaired by former Attorney
General John Van de Kamp, was directed to study and review the
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administration of criminal justice and recommend improvements,
particularly regarding wrongful convictions and executions. In
April 2006, the commission released recommendations regarding
eyewitness identification procedures, which identified reforms
regarding procedures to improve the reliability of eyewitness
identifications, including a recommendation for legislation to
require development of guidelines regarding eyewitness
evidence. A series of related recommendations include:
a) All witnesses should be instructed that a suspect may or
may not be in a photo spread, lineup, and they should be
assured that identification or failure to make an
identification will not end the investigation.
b) Lineup procedures and photo displays should be preserved
on video.
c) At the conclusion of a lineup or photo presentation, a
witness who has made an identification should describe his
or her level of certainty, and that statement should be
documented and preserved.
d) Witnesses should not be given feedback confirming the
accuracy of their identification until a statement
describing level of certainty has been documented.
3)Concern Regarding Eyewitness Misidentification . A study
published in the Psychology, Public Policy and Law Journal
stated that one explanation for the high prevalence of rape
and sexual assault cases among exonerations is recent
improvements in DNA technology. Mistaken eyewitness
identification was involved in 88% of the rape and sexual
assault exoneration cases. This suggests mistaken
identifications are likely present in other convictions that
heavily rely upon eyewitness identifications, such as robbery
cases where DNA evidence is not often present.
4)Opposition includes the CA State Sheriffs Association, which
states, "This bill is unnecessary because there is nothing
precluding the Attorney General from undertaking the task
mandated by this bill. And because the bill does not require
any law enforcement agency to put the guidelines into practice
(a fact for which we are grateful), the exercise is of
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questionable utility."
5)Prior legislation . There have been several attempts to adopt
eyewitness evidence guidelines.
a) AB 308 (Ammiano), 2011, which required the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to develop guidelines for procedures
regarding collection and handling of eyewitness evidence,
was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's Suspense
File.
b) SB 1591 (Ridley-Thomas), 2008, which required DOJ to
develop similar guidelines, was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.
c) SB 1544 (Migden), 2006, which also addressed the need
for guidelines in eyewitness identifications, was vetoed by
Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081