Bill Text: CA AB2542 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Criminal procedure: discrimination.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 317, Statutes of 2020. [AB2542 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB2542-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
August 25, 2020 |
Amended
IN
Senate
August 20, 2020 |
Amended
IN
Senate
August 01, 2020 |
Amended
IN
Senate
July 01, 2020 |
Introduced by Assembly Members Kalra, Kamlager, Robert Rivas, and Santiago (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member McCarty) (Principal coauthors: Senators Bradford, Lena Gonzalez, and Mitchell) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta, Chu, Friedman, Gonzalez, Levine, Mark Stone, Ting, and Weber) (Coauthors: Senators Durazo and Wiener) |
February 19, 2020 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the California Racial Justice Act of 2020.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:SEC. 3.
Section 745 is added to the Penal Code, immediately following Section 740, to read:745.
(a) The state shall not seek or obtain a criminal conviction or seek, obtain, or impose a sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. A violation is established if the defendant proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, any of the following:(d)A violation of subdivision (a) is established if the defendant proves,
by a preponderance of the evidence, any of the following:
(1)The judge, an attorney in the case, a law enforcement officer involved in the case, an expert witness, or juror exhibited bias towards the defendant because of the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin.
(2)During the trial, the judge, an attorney in the case, a law enforcement officer involved in the case, an expert witness, or juror, used racially discriminatory language or otherwise exhibited bias or animus based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, whether or not purposeful or directed at a defendant.
(3)Race, ethnicity, or national origin was a factor in the exercise of peremptory challenges. The defendant need not show that purposeful discrimination occurred in the exercise of peremptory challenges to demonstrate a violation of subdivision (a).
(4)The defendant was charged or convicted of a more serious offense than defendants of other races, ethnicities, or national origins who commit similar offenses and are similarly situated, and the evidence establishes that the prosecution more frequently sought or obtained convictions for more serious offenses against people who share the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin in the county
where the convictions were sought or obtained.
(5)(A)A longer or more severe sentence was imposed on the defendant than was imposed on other similarly situated individuals convicted of the same offense, and longer or more severe sentences were more frequently imposed for that offense on people that share the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin than on defendants of other races, ethnicities, or national origins in the county where the sentence was imposed.
(B)A longer or more severe sentence was imposed on the defendant than was imposed on other similarly situated individuals convicted of the same offense, and longer or more severe sentences were more frequently imposed for the same offense on defendants in cases with victims of one race, ethnicity,
or national origin than in cases with victims of other races, ethnicities, or national origins, in the county where the sentence was imposed.
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
SEC. 3.5.
Section 745 is added to the Penal Code, immediately following Section 740, to read:745.
(a) The state shall not seek or obtain a criminal conviction or seek, obtain, or impose a sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. A violation is established if the defendant proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, any of the following:(d)A violation of subdivision (a) is established if the defendant proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, any of the following:
(1)The judge, an attorney in the case, a law enforcement officer involved in the case, an expert witness, or juror exhibited bias towards the defendant because of the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin.
(2)During the trial, the judge, an attorney in the case, a law enforcement officer involved in the case, an expert witness, or juror, used racially discriminatory language or otherwise exhibited bias or animus based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, whether or not purposeful or directed at a defendant.
(3)If jury selection was completed prior to January 1, 2021, race, ethnicity, or national origin was a factor in the exercise of peremptory
challenges. The defendant need not show that purposeful discrimination occurred in the exercise of peremptory challenges to demonstrate a violation of subdivision (a).
(4)The defendant was charged or convicted of a more serious offense than defendants of other races, ethnicities, or national origins who commit similar offenses and are similarly situated, and the evidence establishes that the prosecution more frequently sought or obtained convictions for more serious offenses against people who share the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin in the county where the convictions were sought or obtained.
(5)(A)A longer or more severe sentence was imposed on the defendant than was imposed on other similarly situated individuals convicted of the same
offense, and longer or more severe sentences were more frequently imposed for that offense on people that share the defendant’s race, ethnicity, or national origin than on defendants of other races, ethnicities, or national origins in the county where the sentence was imposed.
(B)A longer or more severe sentence was imposed on the defendant than was imposed on other similarly situated individuals convicted of the same offense, and longer or more severe sentences were more frequently imposed for the same offense on defendants in cases with victims of one race, ethnicity, or national origin than in cases with victims of other races, ethnicities, or national origins, in the county where the sentence was imposed.
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)