House Committee on Judiciary (04/11/2013)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	04/11/2013	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:40 PM to 08:54 PM	Buckner	X
		Court	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Gardner	X
		Lawrence	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Levy	X
	Representative Kagan	Murray	X
		Pettersen	X
This Report was prepared by		Salazar	*
	Jessika Shipley	Wright	X
		Lee	X
		Kagan	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB13-1251 HB13-1254		Amended, Referred to Finance Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:40 PM -- House Bill 13-1251

Representative Pabon, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1251. Currently, an offender convicted of a misdemeanor is only required to provide a sample of his or her genetic material (DNA) for inclusion in the state's database if the offense involved unlawful sexual conduct. This bill requires any offender convicted of a class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanor offense on or after July 1, 2013, to provide his or her DNA.

Representative Pabon distributed prepared amendments L.003 and L.005 (Attachments A and B). He spoke about misdemeanor DNA laws in other states and provided statistics about repeat offenders in the criminal justice system. He discussed procedures for collecting and testing DNA and his reasons for sponsoring the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.

13HseJud0411AttachA.pdf

13HseJud0411AttachB.pdf

01:52 PM

The committee discussed the variety of class 1 misdemeanors under Colorado law and whether they are all appropriate for DNA collection. Representative Pabon indicated that the bill covers all misdemeanors as a way to maintain consistency and simplicity for law enforcement officers and the courts.

02:03 PM

The committee discussed possible narrowing of offenses to which the DNA collection requirement would apply.

02:13 PM

The committee discussed whether past actions are an indicator of future behavior and whether that outweighs an individual's right to privacy. Discussion continued about narrowing the class 1 misdemeanor offenses that would be subject to mandatory DNA collection.

02:21 PM

Committee discussion turned to the mechanics of DNA collection and the storage of evidence.

02:22 PM -- Denise Maes, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, testified in opposition to the bill. Ms Maes discussed the importance of the right to privacy. She expressed concerns about keeping DNA evidence in perpetuity and stated that DNA contains far more information about a person than a simple fingerprint or mug shot. She raised further concerns about incremental increases in the use of government DNA databases. She stated her opinion that the benefits of the bill have been overstated and do not take into account mistakes and misconduct in crime labs. She commented that communities of color will be disproportionately represented in DNA databases because they are similarly disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. Ms. Maes responded to questions from the committee.

02:35 PM -- Richard Bratten, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Bratten stated his opinion that exonerating innocent individuals is of the utmost importance, but that this bill will not do that. He questioned the validity of DNA evidence and raised concerns about the unintended consequences of the bill. He discussed his opposition to DNA profiling and spoke about the importance of the constitutional right to privacy. Mr. Bratten responded to questions from the committee.

02:50 PM -- Maureen Cain, representing the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, testified in opposition to the bill. Ms. Cain spoke about her work on the DNA task force of the the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ). She provided an article from the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics on measuring the impact of a national DNA database on public safety at the city and county level (Attachment C). She discussed statistics about the DNA samples that have been collected and uploaded to the national database in Colorado since the passage of Senate Bill 09-241. She expressed her opinion that the current DNA collection system needs to be evaluated. Ms. Cain responded to questions from the committee about the work of the DNA task force of the CCJJ and their involvement with the bill.

13HseJud0411AttachC.pdf

03:03 PM -- Robert Dewey, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Dewey spoke about the importance of exonerating innocent individuals.

03:05 PM -- Jan Girten, representing the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), provided technical testimony about the bill. Ms. Girten spoke about the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which include a number of national databases related to DNA evidence. She discussed how evidence is entered into CODIS and how DNA samples are tested and matched. She talked about the fiscal impact of the bill. She responded to questions from the committee about the security of CODIS and about testing science.

03:18 PM

Ms. Girten continued to respond to questions from the committee about the testing and storage of DNA evidence. She spoke about the backlog of DNA evidence in the state that is waiting to be tested.

03:26 PM

Ms. Girten continued to respond to committee questions. She explained the difference between testing DNA samples collected from a convicted offender and testing DNA evidence from a crime scene.

03:34 PM -- Beth Klein, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Klein discussed organized crime, violence against women, and human trafficking. She listed three class 3 misdemeanors related to trafficking and prostitution that should remain in the bill, even if it is narrowed. She responded to questions from the committee.

03:45 PM -- Rebecca Gershten, representing herself and the Victim Services Network, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Gershten shared her experience as a rape survivor. She expressed her opinion that the bill is about public safety.

03:48 PM -- Becky Bornhoft, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Bornhoft shared her experience as a rape survivor. She responded to questions from the committee.

03:57 PM -- Stan Garnett, 20th Judicial District Attorney, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Garnett responded to committee questions.

04:07 PM

The committee continued to question Mr. Garnett about how important DNA evidence is in the investigation and prosecution of crimes and about the potential for narrowing the scope of the bill. Mr. Garnett expressed the view that providing a DNA swab is a reasonable and appropriate consequence for individuals convicted of crimes, and that the bill will enhance public safety. Representative Salazar expressed his concerns about a large DNA database. He asked for statistics related to felony defendants with previous misdemeanor convictions. Discussion ensued.

04:17 PM

Representative Salazar listed several class 1 misdemeanors that would be affected by the bill. Discussion continued between Mr. Garnett and Representative Salazar, with Representative Court weighing in as well.

04:20 PM

Representative Wright responded to Mr. Garnett's testimony. He spoke about mistakes that may happen over the course of an investigation, such as DNA contamination or errors made by a chemist or lab technician. Discussion continued between Mr. Garnett and Representative Wright. Representative Lawrence asked whether a prosecution can rest solely on DNA evidence. Mr. Garnett discussed how DNA evidence is used over the course of a prosecution.

04:25 PM -- Mitch Morrissey, 2nd Judicial District Attorney, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Morrissey shared statistics about violent crime prevention and DNA evidence. He discussed the apprehension of Brent Brents and Byron Gay and how they were tied to DNA evidence. He talked about Mr. Dewey's case and his exoneration by DNA evidence. He spoke about how DNA databases are used by law enforcement agencies and about the security measures in place to ensure that DNA profiles are not compromised. He expressed his opinion that the bill would make Colorado a safer place. He commented about research on the issue of DNA. Mr. Morrissey responded to questions from the committee about the correlation between certain types of misdemeanor offenses and future felony offenses.

04:38 PM

The committee further explored the idea of narrowing the scope of the bill.

04:44 PM

Discussion continued about narrowing the scope of the bill.

04:53 PM

Mr. Morrissey continued to respond to committee questions about the number of DNA samples collected as a result of Senate Bill 09-241.

05:04 PM

Committee questioning of Mr. Morrissey continued.

05:12 PM -- Dawn Weber, representing the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office Cold Case Unit, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Weber addressed concerns raised by members of the committee earlier in the hearing.

05:22 PM

Ms. Weber continued to address the committee's concerns with the bill.

05:36 PM

Ms. Weber continued her presentation in response to the committee's concerns.

05:46 PM

Committee discussion with Ms. Weber continued.

05:51 PM -- Dan May, 4th Judicial District Attorney, testified in support of the bill. Mr. May discussed situations in which there is an expectation of privacy with DNA and when an individual crosses a line and loses that expectation. He passed around a DNA sample collection kit for demonstration purposes. He talked about the security of DNA storage at the CBI and at local law enforcement agencies. He continued to speak about a reasonable expectation of privacy and the standards of reasonable suspicion and probable cause. Representative Salazar and Mr. May discussed exigent circumstances and the right to draw bodily fluids or take a DNA sample.

06:10 PM

Mr. May continued his discussion of the expectation of privacy and responded to questions from the committee. He talked about the types of cases he prosecutes in his district and how he uses DNA evidence. He commented that all of the elected district attorneys in Colorado support the bill as introduced.

06:19 PM

Mr. May continued to respond to questions from the committee about the scope of the bill, whether it applies to juveniles, and reasonable search and seizure.

06:26 PM -- Cliff Riedel, 8th Judicial District Attorney, yielded his time.

06:27 PM -- Laurie Wiedeman, representing her family, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Wiedeman spoke about her sister's cold case murder and stated her opinion that her sister's murderer could have been apprehended much earlier if his DNA was collected upon a misdemeanor conviction. She indicated that his earlier apprehension would have saved at least four lives.

06:34 PM

Mr. Riedel returned to the table to discuss cold case murders solved by DNA evidence in his district. He spoke about the overrepresentation of persons of color in the criminal justice system. He explained why he believes the bill wouldn't apply to juveniles.

06:39 PM -- Sheriff Grayson Robinson, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, testified in support of the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.

06:44 PM -- David Blake, representing the Department of Law, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Blake spoke about the public policy considerations related to the collection and retention of DNA evidence. He responded to questions from the committee about exoneration and the deterrent effect of collecting DNA samples from misdemeanants.

06:59 PM -- Steve Siegel, representing the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Siegel spoke about the need of victims for closure, predictive behavior of future actions, and lower-level misdemeanor offenses that are often committed by domestic violence perpetrators in order to intimidate, coerce, and control their victims.

07:05 PM -- Sergeant Tony Parisi, representing the Denver Police Department, testified in support of the bill. Sgt. Parisi spoke about cases he has investigated where DNA evidence was the key element in the conviction of the perpetrators. He discussed how DNA provides strong investigative leads and compelling evidence in criminal cases. He provided statistics about the number of DNA profiles entered into CODIS as "unknown" and discussed the number and circumstances of cold cases in Denver.

07:17 PM

Sgt. Parisi answered committee questions about criminal investigation and DNA evidence collection.


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	07:33:35 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a vote of 7-4. 13HseJud0411AttachD.pdf
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Buckner	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner	No
	Lawrence	No
	Levy	Yes
	Murray	No
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Lee	No
	Kagan	Yes

YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	07:35:05 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment E). The motion was withdrawn. 13HseJud0411AttachE.pdf
SECONDED:	Pettersen
		VOTE
	Buckner
	Court
	Gardner
	Lawrence
	Levy
	Murray
	Pettersen
	Salazar
	Wright
	Lee
	Kagan

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	07:47:04 PM
MOVED:	Pettersen
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.007 (Attachment F). The motion passed on a vote of 6-5. 13HseJud0411AttachF.pdf
SECONDED:	Salazar
		VOTE
	Buckner	No
	Court	Yes
	Gardner	No
	Lawrence	Yes
	Levy	No
	Murray	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Wright	No
	Lee	No
	Kagan	Yes

YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	07:49:19 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment E). The motion was withdrawn a second time.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Buckner
	Court
	Gardner
	Lawrence
	Levy
	Murray
	Pettersen
	Salazar
	Wright
	Lee
	Kagan

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	08:03:45 PM
MOVED:	Kagan
MOTION:	Reconsider the previous motion to adopt amendment L.007 (Attachment F). The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:	Lee
		VOTE
	Buckner	Yes
	Court	No
	Gardner	Yes
	Lawrence	Yes
	Levy	Yes
	Murray	No
	Pettersen	No
	Salazar	No
	Wright	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	08:11:54 PM
MOVED:	Pettersen
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.007 (Attachment F). The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:	Salazar
		VOTE
	Buckner	No
	Court	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Lawrence	Yes
	Levy	No
	Murray	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Wright	No
	Lee	No
	Kagan	No
YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB13-1251
TIME:	08:36:26 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 13-1251, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:	Salazar
		VOTE
	Buckner	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Lawrence	Yes
	Levy	No
	Murray	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Wright	No
	Lee	Yes
	Kagan	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

08:39 PM -- House Bill 13-1254

Representative Lee, prime sponsor, returned to present House Bill 13-1254, concerning restorative justice. The bill was originally heard on March 26, 2013. At that time, it was referred to the Committee on Finance, which referred the bill back to the Judiciary Committee on April 10, 2013. He distributed prepared amendments L.011 and L.013 (Attachments G and H).

13HseJud0411AttachG.pdf

13HseJud0411AttachH.pdf

08:47 PM -- Nancy Lewis, representing the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, testified in support of the bill, if it is amended. Ms. Lewis indicated that the amendments do not make the bill perfect, but they do address many of the concerns the victim community had with the original bill.


BILL:	HB13-1254
TIME:	08:51:30 PM
MOVED:	Lee
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.011 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Buckner
	Court
	Gardner
	Lawrence
	Levy
	Murray
	Pettersen
	Salazar
	Wright
	Lee
	Kagan

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB13-1254
TIME:	08:52:10 PM
MOVED:	Lee
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.013 (Attachment H). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Buckner
	Court
	Gardner
	Lawrence
	Levy
	Murray
	Pettersen
	Salazar
	Wright
	Lee
	Kagan

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB13-1254
TIME:	08:53:58 PM
MOVED:	Lee
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 13-1254, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:	Buckner
		VOTE
	Buckner	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner	No
	Lawrence	No
	Levy	Yes
	Murray	No
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Wright	No
	Lee	Yes
	Kagan	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

08:54 PM

The committee adjourned.