New Bill Seeks to Limit Felony Plea and Sentencing Transcripts to be Filed

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A 30-year-old statute relating to transcripts of pleas and sentencings involving state prison commitments has recently come into question by the Judicial Council after a complaint was made that the courts were not complying with the statute which requires the transmission of such transcripts to the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR). The statute, 1203.01 of the Penal Code, requires the clerk of the court to send the reporter’s transcript of a defendant’s guilty plea and all proceedings occurring at sentencing to the CDCR within 60 days after commitment is made.

In January, the Judicial Council ordered trial courts to comply, which was met with resounding protests by administrators with already stretched budgets faced with a variety of local policies relating to the transcription and transmission of these proceedings, or the outright suspension thereof. Negotiations began with CDCR to dissuade the prison system from requiring official transcripts and crafting statutory language that would delete their mandate.

Thereafter, the Judicial Council introduced new statutory language, which it inserted into the Public Safety Omnibus bill, SB428 (Strickland), changing the requirement to provide state prison plea and sentencing transcripts only in commitments of death, life, or life without possibility of parole cases, and honoring as-needed requests for specific cases.  (Click here for the proposed language, at PDF page 34.) Their assertion, further, is that the statutory changes would not affect practices in individual trial courts and that this is a budget neutral issue.

COCRA reps, along with other stakeholder representatives, have been monitoring these efforts by the Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts and have consulted with them on this subject, along with our lobbyists, Broad & Gusman, and other union representatives from SEIU, AFSCME, and IFPTE.

The reporter’s transcript in state prison commitments:

• Guarantees the People’s future prosecution of re-offenders, providing proof of constitutional validity of a defendant’s prior conviction and commitment under the statutes related to enhanced sentences for prior convictions and specifically under the Three Strikes Law.
• Guarantees a defendant’s right that an accurate and verbatim record exists of his criminal commitment, which frequently extends beyond the notes retention requirements, for future verification, examination, and review.
• Preserves transparency into our court system through an accurate and detailed record occurring at the time of settlement, including the basis for plea bargains, stipulated sentences, and agreements related to sentencing agreements.
• Provides necessary information to the state prison system with regard to factors relating to details of the offense, propensity for violence, prisoner classification, and victim contact orders and visitation.
• Guarantees to the victims of crimes that their impact statements made under the Victims’ Bill of Rights will be heard, transmitted, honored, and memorialized for future parole hearings.

The first hearing on SB428 scheduled for Monday, May 9, was canceled at the request of the author; however, it is currently pending in the State Legislature.
Be assured your COCRA representatives continue to meet with Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts representatives to represent and protect the interests of official reporters. We will keep you informed of its development.

In the meantime, let us know what the “policy” is in your court and how your local jurisdiction handles these matters. Please post your comments below.

1. Trina F.
   May 11th, 2011 at 9:58 am

   In Riverside Courts, we are not to prepare the sentencing transcript any longer unless it is a life case.

2. Lyn Yard
   May 12th, 2011 at 4:22 pm

   In Stanislaus County we are ordered to prepare and send to the state prisons all pleas and sentencing proceedings in all murder cases and all cases with sentences of death, life, LWOP, and all strikes. This is a new development as of last month. In the past several years we have not sent transcripts to the prison system.