Bill Text: CA SB260 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Youth offender parole hearings.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-09-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 312, Statutes of 2013. [SB260 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB260-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 260	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 4, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 18, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hancock
    (   Coauthors:   Senators   De
León   and Steinberg   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 13, 2013

   An act to add Section 1170.195 to the Penal Code, relating to
sentencing.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 260, as amended, Hancock. Sentencing.
   Existing law provides that the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation or the Board of Parole Hearings, or
both, may, for specified reasons, recommend to the court that a
prisoner's sentence be recalled, and that a court may recall a
prisoner's sentence. When a defendant who was under 18 years of age
at the time of the commission of a crime has served at least 15 years
of his or her sentence, existing law allows the defendant to submit
a petition for recall and resentencing, and authorizes the court, in
its discretion, to recall the sentence and to resentence the
defendant, provided that the new sentence is not greater than the
initial sentence.
   This bill would state legislative intent regarding the 
above   following  provisions, and would, except as
specified, require a sentencing court to hold a hearing to review
the sentence of a person who was under 18 years of age at the time of
an offense and was prosecuted as an adult after the person has
served 10 years in prison. After the review, the bill would allow the
judge to suspend or stay all or a portion of the sentence, reduce
the sentence to any sentence that could lawfully have been ordered at
the time of the original judgment, or both reduce and suspend or
stay all or a portion of the sentence. The bill would authorize the
court to consider specified evidence, in conjunction with any other
evidence the court  considers   deems 
relevant, in making this determination. The bill would also permit
additional review only in the event of a change in circumstances that
is proven by a preponderance of the evidence in a petition filed
with the sentencing court. The bill would not apply to a person
sentenced under specified provisions or sentenced to life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
judicial mechanism for reconsidering the sentences of 
persons who were convicted   adults who have served a
significant amount of time in state prison for the conviction 
of crimes they committed as children  after these persons
have become adults and served a significant amount of time in state
prison  .
  SEC. 2.  Section 1170.195 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   1170.195.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law, upon motion and
after 60 days' notice to the prosecution, the sentencing court shall
hold a hearing to review the sentence of a person who was under 18
years of age at the time of the offense and was prosecuted as an
adult, after the person has served 10 years in prison.
   (b) After reviewing the sentence, the judge may suspend or stay
all or a portion of the sentence, reduce the sentence to any sentence
that could lawfully have been ordered at the time of the original
judgment, or both reduce and suspend or stay all or a portion of the
sentence, provided that the person at the time of the hearing meets
the eligibility criteria of the alternative disposition.
   (c) For purposes of this determination, the court may consider, in
conjunction with any other evidence the court  considers
  deems  relevant, the person's  record of
serious  disciplinary  record   violations
 , whether the person has performed acts that tend to indicate
rehabilitation or the  potential   capacity
 for rehabilitation, including, but not limited to, availing
himself or herself of  any  rehabilitative, educational, or
vocational programs  , if those programs have been 
available at his or her classification level and facility, the
 defendant's   person's  use of self-study
for self-improvement, the  defendant's   person'
s  statement describing his or her remorse and work towards
rehabilitation,  and  the person's youth at the time
of the crime, including his or her immaturity,  impetuosity
  impulsiveness  , failure to appreciate risks and
consequences, family and home environment,  intellectual
functioning, mental disorder, or disabilities,  the
circumstances of the offense, including the extent of participation
in the offense and the way familial and peer pressures may have
affected him or her, and whether the person might have been charged
and convicted of a lesser offense if not for the lesser abilities of
youth, including, but not limited to, an inability to effectively
deal with police officers or prosecutors, or  an incapacity
  a limited capacity to fully understand the proceedings
or  to assist his or her attorney.
   (d) The court shall identify on the record the criteria relied on,
and shall provide a statement of reasons for adopting those
criteria. The court shall state why the defendant does or does not
satisfy the criteria.
   (e) Victims, or victim family members if the victim is deceased,
shall be notified of the resentencing hearing and shall retain their
rights to participate in the hearing.
   (f) Each person granted review pursuant to this section shall only
be entitled to an additional review in the event of a change in
circumstances that is proven by a preponderance of the evidence in a
petition filed with the sentencing court.
   (g) This section does not apply to a person who was sentenced
pursuant to Section 190.4 or 190.5, subdivisions (b) to (i),
inclusive, of Section 667, or Section 1170.12, or to life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole.