BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1682
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 23, 1998
Chief Counsel: Judith M. Garvey
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Don Perata, Chair
SB 1682 (Solis) - As Amended: June 9, 1998
SUMMARY : Amends the time within which prosecutors are required to
disclose evidence in domestic violence cases. Provides that
certain firearm information shall be transmitted to the Department
of Justice (DOJ) with domestic violence information, as specified.
Revises the disbursement of funds collected from persons
participating in batterers' programs. Specifically, this bill :
1) Requires statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance
of any testimony expected to be offered to be disclosed in
compliance with specified Penal Code provisions relating to the
disclosure of information as part of the discovery process.
2) Requires each county to develop a procedure to electronically
transmit to DOJ the terms and conditions of any restrictions on
the ownership or possession of firearms.
3) Creates the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Reimbursement
Fund and the Domestic Violence Training and Education Fund, and
requires the Controller to deposit monies in equal amounts
received from fines assessed from a person convicted of
domestic violence into these funds.
4) Requires that monies deposited into these funds will be
available upon appropriation by the Legislature and shall be
distributed each fiscal year as follows:
a) Funds from the Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Reimbursement Fund be distributed to local law enforcement
or other criminal justice agencies for state-mandated local
costs resulting from specified notification requirements;
and,
b) Funds from the Domestic Violence Training and Education
Fund support the statewide training and education fund.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Provides that prosecuting attorneys are required to disclose to
defendants and their counsel all relevant evidence at least 30
days prior to trial, absent good cause. (Penal Code Sections
1054.3, 1054.7; adopted by initiative (Proposition 115) at the
June 5, 1990 Primary Election, operative June 6, 1990.)
2) Provides in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused
of an offense involving domestic violence, as defined, evidence
of the defendant's commission of other domestic violence is not
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inadmissible under the rule governing the admissibility of
character evidence if the
evidence is not inadmissible because its probative value is
substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission
will:
a) Necessitate undue consumption of time; or,
b) Create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing
the issues or of misleading the jury. (Evidence Code
Section 1109.)
3) Requires the People to disclose this evidence to the defendant,
including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance
of any testimony expected to be offered, at least 30 days
before the scheduled date of trial or at a later time as the
court may allow for good cause. (Evidence Code Section 1109.)
4) Requires each county to develop a procedure to electronically
transmit certain data relating to domestic violence protective
orders, including the issuance of certain restraining and
protective orders relating to prevention of abuse of children
under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, to the DOJ.
(Family Code Section 6380.)
5) Requires that the DOJ be notified of the contents of the order
and specified information, including the names of the protected
persons and the date of the issuance of the order. (Family
Code Section 6380.)
6) Requires a person convicted of domestic violence, among other
things, to pay a minimum fine of $200 to be deposited with the
county treasurer. Of those monies, one-third is retained by
counties for domestic violence programs, and the remainder is
transferred to the Controller for deposit in the Domestic
Violence Fund (DVF). Distributions from the DVF, subject to
appropriation by the Legislature, are made as follows:
one-half to counties, based on a formula, for the maintenance
of the domestic violence restraining order data bank system and
one-third to support statewide training and education programs.
(Penal Code Section 1203.097.)
COMMENTS :
1) Author's Statement . According to the author, "SB 1682 will
strengthen California's domestic violence laws in three ways.
It will:
a) Streamline the way local law enforcement is reimbursed for
providing restraining order data for the state's
computerized restraining order registry.
b) Expand the information available on the state's
computerized restraining order registry to include gun
restriction information.
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c) Ensure that prior acts of domestic violence are admissible
in domestic violence prosecutions.
2) Prior Acts of Violence . This bill revises the notice
requirement for the prosecution to introduce prior acts of
domestic violence. Several elected prosecutors have notified
this Committee of the problem with current law:
a) San Francisco District Attorney's Office . District
Attorney Terence Hallinan states that "the reduction of the
notice period required for use of domestic violence priors
under Evidence Code Section 1109 will greatly facilitate
the prosecution of these cases. Often, it is only after
long and diligent work by prosecutors that we discover
prior
incidents of domestic violence in other counties or other states
-- long after the thirty day notice requirement has run."
b) Alameda District Attorney's Office . District Attorney Tom
Orloff states that "realistically, the 'at least 30 days'
notice requirement has proved to be onerous and often
times, overly burdensome to the prosecution. Misdemeanor
cases in which the defendant is in custody must be brought
to trial within 30 days of the arraignment or entry of
plea. Adherence to the existing law would preclude the
admissibility of uncharged acts of domestic violence
committed by the defendant.
"In felony trials, often times information about uncharged
acts is not known to the prosecution nor can the
investigation be completed as to the existence of uncharged
acts of domestic violence at least 30 days before the trial
is set to commence. ... The proffered evidence consists of
conduct in which the defendant himself engaged. In those
cases where the prosecution is able to identify prior acts
of domestic violence or other victims of prior acts of
domestic violence, that evidence should be admissible and
it should not come as a surprise when that information is
disclosed by the prosecution to the defense."
c) Los Angeles City Attorney's Office . City Attorney James
Hahn states that the "narrowing of the notice requirement
for the prosecution to introduce prior acts of domestic
violence is essential since the statutory trial date under
Penal Code section 1382(a)(3) is 30 days from the date of
arraignment. It is frequently the case that domestic
violence victims do not immediately revel instances of
prior domestic violence and disclose this information only
after several interviews. In those instances, the 30 day
time limit preceding trial is often exceeded.
"The time restriction is extremely prohibitive when prior
convictions are located in other jurisdictions. Although
Evidence Code section 1109 gives the court discretion to
admit the evidence after the 30 day notice period, most
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courts believe the 30 day notice requirement to be binding.
Evidence of prior acts of domestic violence is often
critical to the fact-finder's understanding of the course
of the abuse and to explain the victim's failure to leave."
3) Gun Restriction Information . This bill strengthens the state's
domestic violence restraining order registry by including gun
restriction information.
a) Los Angeles District Attorney (LADA) . The LADA supports
this provision because "although federal legislation makes
it illegal for anyone who is the subject of a domestic
violence protective order to be in possession of a firearm,
California law contains no such restriction unless
specifically ordered by the court or unless the person has
been convicted of specified offenses. Thus, SB 1682's
inclusion of such information in the Domestic Violence
Registry insures better and more accurate information on
this important safety restriction is available to all law
enforcement officers."
b) California Alliance Against Domestic Violence (CAADV) .
The CAADV supports this provision because "current
information in the system only includes restraints on the
purchase of firearms. Many domestic violence perpetrators
may own firearms, but this information is not currently
captured by the statewide registry and is essential for the
law enforcement officer arriving on the scene to be informed of
the ownership status as well."
4) Funding . This bill ensures that counties receive all funding
due to them from the DVF. Current law requires the Controller
to distribute one-half of the funds deposited in the DVF to
counties. The distribution formula is based on the number of
restraining orders issued and registered with the DOJ's
Domestic Violence Restraining Order Registry. According to the
author, at the present time, counties are not receiving their
due portion from the DVF. The author believes that it is
imperative to acknowledge the work conducted by local law
enforcement in providing critical information to DOJ regarding
restraining orders.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office states that "this bill
corrects language currently contained in Penal Code section
1203.097 which directs the disposition of funds obtained by the
[Controller] under the minimum mandatory sentence for domestic
violence convictions. The language currently in the statute
creates difficulty in the administration of the reimbursement
process to counties for the costs in entering domestic violence
restraining order information."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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Los Angeles City Attorney (Sponsor)
District Attorney of San Francisco
District Attorney of Alameda County
District Attorney of Los Angeles
District Attorney of Santa Clara County
California Alliance Against Domestic Violence
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
California Federation of Business and Professional Women
California Child, Youth and Family Coalition
The Riley Center of St. Vincent De Paul Society
California Commission on the Status of Women
District Attorney of Sacramento County
Police Department of the City of El Monte
Haven Women's Center of Stanislaus
Tri-Valley Haven for Women
Attorney General's Office
Baldwin Park Chief of Police
Coalition for Family Equity
District Attorney of Orange County
La Casa de las Madres
Avance Human Services, Inc.
Opposition
None on file
Analysis prepared by : Judith M. Garvey / apubs / (916) 445-3268