BILL ANALYSIS
AB 3369
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Date of Hearing: April 16, 1996
Consultant: Natasha Fooman
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Paula L. Boland, Chair
AB 3369 (Bordonaro) - As Proposed To Be Amended
UPON RECOMMENDATION OF SUBCOMMITTEE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE
FOR VOTE ONLY
Urgency statute. 2/3 vote required.
SUMMARY:
1) Provides that the juvenile court shall require as a condition
of probation of a minor who is declared a ward of the court as
a result of criminal conduct, and that the Youthful Offender
Parole Board shall also require as a standard condition of
parole for persons committed to the control of the Department
of the Youth Authority, that the ward or youthful offender
shall be subject to warrantless searches of his or her person,
residence, or any property under his or her control, upon the
request of a probation officer, parole officer, or peace
officer, as applicable.
2) Reduces the age limit for authorizing a transfer of a person
to the California Youth Authority (CYA) by the Director of
California Department of Corrections (CDC) to under 18 years, and
requires the transfer to terminate when the inmate reaches an
unspecified age.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
EXISTING LAW:
1) Provides that the juvenile court shall impose specified
conditions of probation upon a minor who is declared a ward of
the court as a result of criminal conduct. Existing law also
provides that the Youthful Offender Parole Board shall impose
specified conditions of parole upon any person committed to the
control of the Department of the Youth Authority. (Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 727.)
2) Authorizes a court to commit to the Youth Authority any person
convicted of a public offense who, among other things, is found to
be under the age of 21 years at the time of apprehension. If a
person under the age of 21 years is not committed to the authority
pursuant to this provision, the Director of Corrections is
authorized to transfer this person to the authority with the
approval of the Director of the Youth Authority. (Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 1731.5(c).)
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3) Requires that the duration of the transfer extend until any of
specified acts occur, including the inmate reaching the age of 25
years. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 1731.5(c).)
BACKGROUND:
1) According to the author, "Because of the increase in the number
of violent juvenile offenders, minors sent to juvenile
facilities have usually committed extremely serious crimes.
Many are recidivists, who when out on probation or parole, are
great risks for further criminal activity. Law enforcement
authorities must be provided with greater flexibility to lessen
the threat that these individuals pose to the community once
they are released. This bill will give local law enforcement
the ability to conduct random searches of those juveniles most
likely to be engaging in criminal activity, thereby improving
law enforcement's ability to deter criminal conduct.
This bill will also address California Youth Authority (CYA)
issues surrounding the confinement of juveniles commonly
referred to as 'M-Cases.' Acceptance of M-Cases who are 18
years of age or over at the time of sentencing and who have
sentences in excess of age 25, is inconsistent with adult
sentencing statutes and requires the CYA to provide services to
offenders who are age appropriate for prison population. This
bill would lower the age to under 18 for individuals sentenced
to state prison and referred to CYA for housing (M-Cases).
Individuals accepted for housing must be transferred to state
prison by the inmate's 18th birthday. However, as proposed to
be amended, if the inmate's period of incarceration is
completed by the inmate's 19th birthday, the Director of CYA
may continue to house an inmate until that time. This bill
ensure that upon reaching adulthood, CYA commitments will be
sent to the Department of Corrections if the remaining portion
of their sentence goes beyond the inmate's 19th birthday."
2) Other Legislation. AB 906 (Aguiar), introduced during first
half of the 1995-1996 Session, also dealt with the subject of
M-Cases. The Assembly failed to concur in the Senate amendments
and this bill was sent to Conference Committee in last September.
AB 3068 (Frusetta) requires the biennial review of a juvenile
who has been committed to the custody of the Youth Authority by
reason of the commission of a violent felony, rather than the
annual review currently required. The purpose of AB 3068 is to
limit the number of times that victims would have to relieve
their victimization by eliminating unnecessary parole review
for violent juvenile offenders. Further AB 3068 would reduce
state costs for juvenile parole hearings.
3) Proposed Amendments. Amendments: 1) Establish an age of 18
years old for M-Cases. In addition, the Director of CYA will
still have authority to retain custody of juveniles, if the
juveniles time of commitment will end prior to the juveniles'
19th birthday. 2) Provides the Legislature finds and declares
that due to the significant increase in the scope and severity
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of criminal conduct being committed by minors these days,
greater authority is required by law enforcement agencies to
conduct warrantless searches.
4) Potential Effect. This bill will give local law enforcement
the ability to conduct warrantless searches of those juveniles
most likely to be engaging in criminal activity, thereby improving
law enforcement's ability to deter criminal conduct.
CYA's as well as CDC's population will be impacted by the
lowering of the age to under 18 for housing referrals and the
lowering of the age for
mandatory transfer to CDC. Although this bill will allow the
attrition of housing cases currently in the population, the
urgency clause will immediately implement rejection of housing
cases 18 years of age or older; this age group currently comprises
96% of the housing cases in CYA. It is anticipated that
approximately 1,300 beds will be gained with the full attrition of
the current housing cases by the Year 2002, and parole will be
reduced by approximately the same number over the same period.
The only cases that will be eligible for housing under the bill
will be juveniles ages 14 through 17 who have been found unfit for
Juvenile Court and who will be referred for housing in CYA from
Superior Court. These unfit minors tend to be serious or violent
offenders with lengthy sentences.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Proponents argue that this bill will give
local law enforcement the ability to conduct searches of those
juveniles most likely to be engaging in criminal activity, thereby
improving law enforcement's ability to prevent criminal conduct.
Additionally, this bill could deter probationers and parolees from
engaging in criminal activities since they will be subject to
searches without notification.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), "By automatically sending 18, 19, and 20
year olds to state prison, California forfeits whatever
possibility that the educational, counseling, and other services
available in CYA may reduce the likelihood of future crimes."
REGISTERED SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:
Support
Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP - sponsor)
California Department of Youth Authority (CYA)
Women Prosecutors of California
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
California Public Defenders Association
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Analysis prepared by: Natasha Fooman / apubs / 445-3268
AB 3369
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