AB 660

Under current law, with some exceptions, a person who commits a crime may

be allowed to serve all or a portion of his or her sentence in the community, but under

the supervision of the Department of Corrections (DOC) and in the legal custody of

DOC (supervised release). Current law offers three types of generally available

supervised release: 1) release from prison to extended supervision, which is

available to certain persons who are sentenced to imprisonment for a felony he or she

committed on or after December 31, 1999, or for a misdemeanor he or she committed

on or after February 1, 2003, 2) release from prison to parole, which is available to

certain persons who are sentenced for a felony or a misdemeanor he or she committed

before those dates, and 3) release to probation, which is available for certain persons

for whom a court delays sentencing or imposes a sentence and stays its execution

while the person serves his or her time on probation.

A person who is on supervised release must comply with rules and conditions

set by DOC, or in the case of a probationer or some persons released to extended

supervision, with rules and conditions set by DOC and the sentencing court. If the

person violates a rule or condition of supervised release, DOC may initiate

proceedings to revoke his or her release. In most cases, a person is entitled to a

hearing to determine if he or she did violate a rule or condition of supervised release.

A person under supervised release who is accused of violating a rule or

condition of supervised release may waive his or her right to a hearing; in that case,

DOC determines whether revocation is warranted and, if revocation is warranted,

the period of incarceration that may be appropriate for the violation. Current law

provides that, if after a hearing before the Division of Hearings and Appeals in the

Department of Administration, the person is found to have committed a violation,

the person's supervised release may be revoked. Upon revocation, the person may

be returned to a correctional facility for a period of time up to the time remaining on

his or her sentence; if the person is a probationer, the person may be returned to court

for sentencing or, if the original sentence was imposed but stayed, may be required

to serve his or her original sentence. A revocation decision by the Division of

Hearings and Appeals may be appealed by the person or, if revocation is denied, by

DOC.

Under current law, the person has a right to due process with respect to the

revocation hearing, but the rules of evidence that apply to court proceedings do not

necessarily apply to revocation hearings. Also under current law, a person who has

been charged with committing a felony is entitled to a preliminary examination at

which the court must determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the

defendant committed a felony. Witness testimony may be taken at both revocation

hearings and preliminary examinations.

This bill changes aspects of the revocation proceedings for persons who are

under supervised release for a felony and who violate a condition of supervised