Bill Text: CA SB982 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Deceased Child Victims' Protection and Privacy Act.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-08-11 - In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. [SB982 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB982-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 982	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 26, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 3, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hollingsworth
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Fletcher)
   ( Coauthor:   Senator  
Ducheny   Coauthors:   Senators  
Ducheny   and Harman )

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2010

   An act to add Section 130 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating
to victims' rights, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 982, as amended, Hollingsworth. Deceased child victim of crime:
autopsy information and privacy.
   Existing law prohibits the making of a copy, reproduction, or
facsimile of any kind of photographs, negatives, or print of the
body, or any portion of the body, of a deceased person taken by or
for the coroner at the scene of death or in the course of a
postmortem exam or autopsy made by or caused to be made by the
coroner, except for use in a criminal proceeding in this state that
relates to the death of that person, or except as a court of this
state permits, as specified.
   This bill would prohibit, upon the request of the family of a
deceased person who was under 18 years of age when he or she was a
victim of a crime that caused his or her death, the disclosure of the
autopsy report and evidence associated with the examination of the
victim, except as specified.  The bill would also provide that a
coroner or medical examiner shall not be   liable for
damages in a civil action for any act or omission taken in compliance
with these provisions. 
   Because the bill would impose additional duties on local
officials, such as the county coroner, the district attorney, or the
public defender, relating to preventing the disclosure of this
information, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Deceased Child Victims' Protection and Privacy Act.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) (1) Thousands of Californians are murdered each year, a
statistic that has remained steady for over 30 years. The emotional
pain suffered by the families of these lost victims is unimaginable.
That pain is relived through criminal proceedings, which serve as a
troubling reminder of the suffering that loved ones endured before
their lives were taken.
   (2) No document is more telling of the specific nature of a victim'
s injuries than the autopsy report crafted by a medical examiner. For
the family of a crime victim, the writing and diagrams contain the
details of a loved one's last experiences in this world.
   (3) While criminal proceedings and certain civil actions may
require the use of those documents to satisfy the needs of a
particular suit, there is no compelling interest in public production
and distribution of these documents.
   (4) Both the California and United States Constitutions have been
construed to vest privacy rights in the families of deceased victims,
prohibiting the unnecessary disclosure of that information.
   (b) The purpose of this act is to protect the privacy of the
families of deceased victims by allowing them to request that autopsy
reports not be subject to public records act requests.
   (c) This act is intended to limit the unnecessary dissemination of
autopsy and private medical information concerning a murdered child
by acknowledging a family's right to privacy in those documents when
there is no compelling interest in disclosure. This act allows
families to request that the autopsy report of the victim be sealed
from public inspection. This act does not affect the dissemination of
the reports to law enforcement agents or prosecutors, and it does
not affect their obligations to provide that information to
defendants, with a protective order, in compliance with state and
federal discovery obligations. This act does not affect the ability
of civil litigants, in a suit related to the death of the victim,
from subpoenaing those records after a showing of good cause to the
trial court.
  SEC. 3.  Section 130 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to
read:
   130.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law, upon the request of the
family of a deceased victim of a crime who was under 18 years of age
at the time of the crime that caused his or her death, the autopsy
report and evidence associated with the examination of the victim
shall be sealed and not disclosed, except as provided in this
subdivision.
   (1) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of autopsy
reports and evidence during criminal court proceedings.
   (2) Disclosure of all autopsy information and evidence to law
enforcement or prosecutorial agencies   , 
 prosecutorial agencies, or child death review teams  is not
limited by this section.
   (3) Disclosure to the defendant and the defense team in the course
of criminal proceedings or related habeas proceedings is not limited
by this section, except that the defendant and defense team are
prohibited from disseminating all autopsy information and evidence
outside of the defense team, except during criminal court
proceedings.
   (4) Civil litigants, in a cause of action related to the victim's
death, may obtain copies of autopsy reports and evidence with a court
order upon a showing of good cause and proper notice under Section
129.
   (5) Nothing in this section shall abrogate the rights of victims,
their authorized representatives, or insurance carriers to request
the release of information pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
6254 of the Government Code. However, if a seal has been requested,
an insurance carrier receiving items pursuant to a request under that
subdivision is prohibited from disclosing the requested items except
as necessary in the normal course of business. An insurance carrier
shall not, under any circumstances, disclose items received pursuant
to subdivision (f) of Section 6254 of the Government Code to the
general public.
   (6) This provision may not be invoked by a family member who has
been charged with or convicted of any act in furtherance of the
victim's death. 
   (7) A coroner or medical examiner shall not be liable for damages
in a civil action for any act or omission taken in compliance with
this section. 
   (b) For purposes of this section:
   (1) "Evidence" means any object, writing, diagram, recording,
computer file, photograph, video, DVD, CD, film, digital device 
,  or other item which was collected during or serves to
document the autopsy of an individual.
   (2) "Family" means the biological or adoptive parent, foster
parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, child, sibling, or
closest living relative of the deceased.
  SEC. 4.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
  SEC. 5.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to prevent, as soon as possible, autopsy information
concerning deceased children from being made available to the public,
it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.