Assembly Appropriations Committee
**LIVE**

http://www.calchannel.com/webcast.htm

ftp://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1201-1250/sb_1223_bill_20040806_status.html

CURRENT BILL STATUS


MEASURE : S.B. No. 1223
AUTHOR(S) : Kuehl (Coauthor: Senator Romero).
TOPIC : Criminal law: juveniles.
HOUSE LOCATION : ASM
+LAST AMENDED DATE : 05/24/2004


TYPE OF BILL :
Active
Non-Urgency
Non-Appropriations
Majority Vote Required
State-Mandated Local Program
Fiscal
Non-Tax Levy

LAST HIST. ACT. DATE: 06/23/2004
LAST HIST. ACTION : Placed on APPR. suspense file.
COMM. LOCATION : ASM APPROPRIATIONS
HEARING DATE : 08/12/2004

TITLE : An act to add Section 1170.195 to the Penal Code,
relating to juvenile crime.

MY NEICE IS CURRENTLY BEING HELD IN THE SHASTA COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER. SHE HAS BEEN THERE FOR OVER A YEAR. SHE IS CURRENTLY TRYING TO REVERSE HER PLEA. YESTERDAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF THAT TRIAL. THE JUDGE SAYS HE NEEDS A FEW DAYS TO THINK ABOUT HIS DECISION. WITH THE GRACE OF GOD, SHE WILL BE ALOUD TO WITHDARAW HER PLEA OF GUILTY FOR 1ST DEGREE MURDER. SHE ENTERED THIS PLEA LAST MAY, WITH NO FAMILY OR COUNSELORS TO CONSOLE WITH.
SHE IS NOT GUILTY OF MURDER UNDER ANY OF THE ELEMENTS. HOWEVER, THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL "FELONY MURDER RULE" COULD PREVAIL.
IT IS MY GOAL, AND MY NEICES TO BEGIN THE EFFORTS TO DO AWAY WITH THIS "FELONY MURDER RULE". :nono: IF ANYBODY KNOWS WHERE TO BEGIN, PLEASE DIRECT ME. ALSO, IF YOU CAN, PLEASE TRY TO CONTACT HER AT THE SHASTA COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER. HER NAME IS MEGHAN.
AS FOR THE SB 1223. WHAT A BLESSING. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FOLLOW THIS ONE. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE SENATE, AND IS JUST WAITING FOR THE GOVERNORS APPROVAL. SEVERAL OF OUT FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE WRITTEN LETTERS TO HIM, URGING HIM TO APPROVE THIS BILL. I BELEIVE ITS "NON-URGENT" STATUS IS HOLDING IT UP. WE HAVE GOTTEN NO REPLY FROM THE GOVERNORS OFFICE. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE CAN DO TO GET THIS PASSED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING UP AND CARING. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING BACK. TRUSTING IN GOD,:thumbsup:

From what I have been told by the Author this bill is dead but the Human Rights Watch and Archdioese of Los Angeles and the Juvenile Law Office of San Francisco are all working together. I have been asked to come aboard and as soon as the forms are ready to be distributed I will let you know. It will be a questionary for Juvies triad as Adults. The plan of attack is to reach out to all who were Juveniles triad as Adults and present each case to the Gov.

This SB 1223 Bill is very well written and it saddens me that do to the Financial Crisis's this bill will not go forward if money is needed. (Money to take inmates back to court, Judge, Prosecutor, etc,etc.)

Anyway the bill that went with this one was the SB 1115 and here is what Arnold said about that:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-
juvies1sep01,1,5780996.story?coll=la-headlines-california

REGION & STATE

Gov. Vetoes Bill on Juvenile Crimes

Measure was intended to help clarify for judges when a minor should be
prosecuted as an adult.
By Jenifer Warren
Times Staff Writer

September 1, 2004

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Tuesday that
sought to help judges decide which juvenile crimes were serious enough
to merit prosecution in adult court.

In a statement, Schwarzenegger said the bill would "seriously
compromise public safety" by preventing some of California's most
dangerous juvenile offenders from being tried as adults.

He also suggested that the measure would erode a ballot initiative,
approved by voters in 2000, that sought to toughen penalties for young
criminals.

The bill's author, state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), said "the
governor made a mistake." She said her measure, which had extensive
support, was merely designed to guide judges and eliminate ambiguity in
the law.

Advocates of the bill agreed, and said they were puzzled and surprised
by the governor's veto.

"This is totally bizarre," said Carole Shauffer, an attorney with the
nonprofit Youth Law Center in San Francisco. "It appears to be a
knee-jerk reaction to juvenile crime rather than a thoughtful response
to this particular issue."

The bill, SB 1151, centers on a process in Juvenile Court that
determines whether a minor 14 or older should be prosecuted as an
adult. Under current law, a judge reviews five criteria in making that
decision, including the degree of criminal sophistication shown by the
minor, the minor's record and "the circumstances and gravity of the
offense."

Kuehl's bill sought to clarify for judges how to evaluate the
"circumstances and gravity" of a crime, requiring them to consider the
actual behavior of the minor, the minor's degree of involvement and the
level of harm caused by the minor.

Such clarification was needed, she said, because the vague language had
led to inconsistencies from court to court in which juveniles were
referred for prosecution as adults.

Michael Duc Ta is a case in point, Kuehl said. He was tried and
convicted as an adult at age 16 for a gang-related crime.

Ta was the driver of a car carrying two gang members, one of whom fired
a gun at a rival. No one was injured, but Ta, who had no prior record,
was sentenced to 35 years to life, Kuehl said.

The shooter, by contrast, received a shorter sentence and has been
released from prison, she said.

"It is outrageous that this young man is serving a longer sentence than
the man who did the shooting," Kuehl said. "This bill sought to address
those inconsistencies."

The measure was endorsed by 10 organizations, including the state's
association of Juvenile Court judges and the Judicial Council. In a
letter, the Juvenile Court judges said the bill would have helped them
"better exercise their discretion in determining whether a child"
should be tried in adult court.

Initially, the California District Attorneys Assn. took a position of
"support if amended." In a March letter, the association said the bill
"partially provides much needed cleanup language to correct and
clarify" the law. But when Kuehl declined the association's requested
amendments, which were unrelated to the purpose of her bill, its
support was withdrawn, she said.

On Tuesday, the group's executive director, Dave Labahn, confirmed
Kuehl's account but said the association also believed that the bill
was a threat to public safety.

"Basically, this bill was about keeping the drivers in drive-by
shootings in Juvenile Court," Labahn said. "In our view, the drivers
aren't any less accountable than the person who pulls the trigger. They
may, in fact, be the shot caller, so we believe they belong in the
adult system."

Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times

IF YOU CAN HELP I STARTED A WEBSITE TO COLLECT INMATES NAMES EFFECTED BY THIS LAW:
ALJO: AMEND LAW JUVENILE OFFENDERS (http://www.clear-foundation.com/aljo.htm)

Kathy,
It Has Been Awhile Since We Spoke. The Elctions Have Now Passed. I Have Printed And Started A List Going Around Of Juveniles Tried As Adults. But The Website Does Not Give An Address To Mail To.
I Am Told That This Bill Could Possibly Come Back Around In January. How Can I Help? What Can I Do? Who Can I Talk To? Please Keep Me Posted. My Neice, Meghan, Will Be Going To Chowchilla On Her 18th Birthday(next Thurs. 11-18-04). Hopefully There She Will Be Able To Research And Communicate. God's Blessings To Us All.

Kathy,It Has Been Awhile Since We Spoke. The Elctions Have Now Passed. I Have Printed And Started A List Going Around Of Juveniles Tried As Adults. But The Website Does Not Give An Address To Mail To. I Am Told That This Bill Could Possibly Come Back Around In January. How Can I Help? What Can I Do? Who Can I Talk To? Please Keep Me Posted. My Neice, Meghan, Will Be Going To Chowchilla On Her 18th Birthday(next Thurs. 11-18-04). Hopefully There She Will Be Able To Research And Communicate. God's Blessings To Us All.
OH WOW! You are COOL! I feel this is going to be the Year! The Senators are Gloria Romero and Sheila Kuehl are working together now on this and the Youth Law Center in San Francisco has revised the SB 1223 and have reformed it. The Senator is going to put up another bill next year. But it won't be as comprehensive as the last one. They are going to go slow at first, and see what happens. The bill will only affect those youth with no priors, and no "strike" offenses, and no mandatory enhancements. I believe all enhancements are mandatory enhancements but I am not sure? We're going to use the bill to keep talking about the issues, with the idea of expanding the bill in future years. When I know more I'll let you know. I will go back to the Website and put up an E-mail address for you! I will also PM you with my address because I have a list that is growing! HOOTIE HOO! I love it when people get involved to change CDC! Double HOOTIE HOO! :thumbsup:

Love
Kathy

My brother was arrested at 16 years old. He was convicted of 3 accounts of premeditated attempted murder. He was supposedly the driver in a drive by shooting. No one was injured. There was no gun or bullets found, no finger prints, no witnesses. He is now 29 years old. To top it off he was at home at the time of the shooting,but he was still pointed out by one of the victums that he was the driver. He recieved life plus one. He even passed a lie detecter test...I want to do what I can to help. Let me know what me and my family could do..Thank You