Bill Text: CA SB378 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Official record of conviction: admissibility of electronically digitized copy.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-08-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 150, Statutes of 2013. [SB378 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB378-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 378	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Block

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act to amend Sections 452.5, 1284, 1452, 1453, 1530, and 1531
of, and to add Section 137 to, the Evidence Code, relating to
evidence.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 378, as introduced, Block. Evidence: admissibility:
electronically digitized versions.
   Existing law governs the admissibility of evidence in civil and
criminal proceedings, as well as actions before referees and court
commissioners.
   This bill would, as defined, provide that an electronically
digitized copy of specified documents and other items is admissible
as evidence to the same extent that those documents and items are
otherwise admissible as evidence under existing law, including
official records of criminal convictions, specified writings made by
an employee who is the official custodian of records of a public
entity, seals, signatures, purported copies of writings in the
custody of a public entity, and attested or certified copies.
   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.  Section 137 is added to the Evidence Code, to read:
   137.  "Electronically digitized copy" means a copy that is made by
scanning, photographing, or otherwise exactly reproducing a
document, is stored or maintained in a digitized format, and bears an
electronic signature or watermark unique to the entity responsible
for certifying the document.
  SEC. 2.  Section 452.5 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   452.5.  (a) The official acts and records specified in
subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 452 include any
computer-generated official court records, as specified by the
Judicial Council which relate to criminal convictions, when the
record is certified by a clerk of the superior court pursuant to
Section 69844.5 of the Government Code at the time of computer entry.

   (b) An official record of conviction certified in accordance with
subdivision (a) of Section 1530  , or an electronically digitized
copy thereof,  is admissible pursuant to Section 1280 to prove
the commission, attempted commission, or solicitation of a criminal
offense, prior conviction, service of a prison term, or other act,
condition, or event recorded by the record.
  SEC. 3.  Section 1284 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   1284.  Evidence of a writing  , including an electronically
digitized copy thereof,  made by the public employee who is the
official custodian of the records in a public office, reciting  a
 diligent search and failure to find a record, is not made
inadmissible by the hearsay rule when offered to prove the absence of
a record in that office.
  SEC. 4.  Section 1452 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   1452.  A seal  , including an electronically digitized copy
thereof,  is presumed to be genuine and its use authorized if it
purports to be the seal of:
   (a) The United States or a department, agency, or public employee
of the United States.
   (b) A public entity in the United States or a department, agency,
or public employee of such public entity.
   (c) A nation recognized by the executive power of the United
States or a department, agency, or officer of such nation.
   (d) A public entity in a nation recognized by the executive power
of the United States or a department, agency, or officer of such
public entity.
   (e) A court of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction.
   (f) A notary public within any state of the United States.
  SEC. 5.  Section 1453 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   1453.  A signature  , including an electronically digitized
copy thereof,  is presumed to be genuine and authorized if it
purports to be the signature, affixed in his official capacity, of:
   (a) A public employee of the United States.
   (b) A public employee of any public entity in the United States.
   (c) A notary public within any state of the United States.
  SEC. 6.  Section 1530 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   1530.  (a) A purported copy  , including an electronically
digitized copy,  of a writing in the custody of a public entity,
or of an entry in such a writing, is prima facie evidence of the
existence and content of such writing or entry if:
   (1) The copy purports to be published by the authority of the
nation or state, or public entity therein in which the writing is
kept;
   (2) The office in which the writing is kept is within the United
States or within the Panama Canal Zone, the Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands, or the Ryukyu Islands, and the copy is attested or
certified as a correct copy of the writing or entry by a public
employee, or a deputy of a public employee, having the legal custody
of the writing; or
   (3) The office in which the writing is kept is not within the
United States or any other place described in paragraph (2) and the
copy is attested as a correct copy of the writing or entry by a
person having authority to make attestation. The attestation must be
accompanied by a final statement certifying the genuineness of the
signature and the official position of (i) the person who attested
the copy as a correct copy  ,  or (ii) any foreign official
who has certified either the genuineness of the signature and
official position of the person attesting the copy or the genuineness
of the signature and official position of another foreign official
who has executed a similar certificate in a chain of such
certificates beginning with a certificate of the genuineness of the
signature and official position of the person attesting the copy.
Except as provided in the next sentence, the final statement may be
made only by a secretary of an embassy or legation, consul general,
consul, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States, or a
diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or
accredited to the United States. Prior to January 1, 1971, the final
statement may also be made by a secretary of an embassy or legation,
consul general, consul, vice consul, consular agent, or other officer
in the foreign service of the United States stationed in the nation
in which the writing is kept, authenticated by the seal of his
office. If reasonable opportunity has been given to all parties to
investigate the authenticity and accuracy of the documents, the court
may, for good cause shown, (i) admit an attested copy without the
final statement  ,  or (ii) permit the writing or entry in
foreign custody to be evidenced by an attested summary with or
without a final statement.
   (b) The presumptions established by this section are presumptions
affecting the burden of producing evidence.
  SEC. 7.  Section 1531 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
   1531.  For the purpose of evidence, whenever a copy of a writing
is attested or certified, the attestation or certificate must state
in substance that the copy is a correct copy of the original, or of a
specified part thereof, as the case may be.  An electronically
digitized copy of an attested or certified copy is admissible to the
same extent as an attested or certified copy.