#TeamJustice is a coalition of partners who are committed to doing the work in state legislations to create meaningful changes in our criminal justice system under the equity and justice lens for the Black and Brown communities.
#MomsAgainstTorture and #TeamJustice are advocating for you to SUPPORT AB1630 in this 2022 legislative cycle.
Bill Summary: Vulnerable Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial
Existing law presumes that a defendant is competent unless shown, by a preponderance of evidence, that the defendant is incompetent. Existing law also requires the counsel for the defendant to offer evidence in support of the allegation of mental incompetence and, if they decline to do so, authorizes the prosecution to do so.
AB1630 will:
Improve record-keeping and communication, so courts have updated competency findings for defendants
Increase access to diversion programs by making them part of the competency evaluation
Shift the burden to the State to prove competence once a court-appointed evaluator has concluded a defendant is incompetent to stand trial.
Bill Status:
AB1630 was passed through the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday 6/21. It now needs to pass through Appropriations and the Senate floor, and then it will go to Governor Newsom to be signed into law.
Please contact the committee reps so they know you want them to support AB1630.
Action items
Help pass AB1630 out of Senate Appropriations—scroll for email and call script templates:
SD25 | D | Committee Chair
📧 Email Senator Portantino's Team
☎️ Call Senator Portantino's Office
SD36 | R | Committee Co-Chair
☎️ Call Senator Bates's Office
SD35 | D |
📧 Email Senator Bradford's Team
☎️ Call Senator Bradford’s Office
SD38 | R |
📧 Email Senator Jones's Team
☎️ Call Senator Jones’s Office
SD30 | D |
📧 Email Senator Kamlager's Team
☎️ Call Senator Kamlager’s Office
SD17 | D |
☎️ Call Senator Laird’s Office
SD10 | D |
Adjust the template message below to include your information and anything you would like to add about why you support AB1630. See additional talking points here.
Email template:
Greetings,
I am writing to urge the Senator to support AB1630 when it comes to the Appropriations Committee.
AB1630 addresses issues with California’s Incompetence to Stand Trial procedures that have caused poor individuals with mental illness to be cycled through the criminal legal system instead of receiving adequate treatment. This is a priority reform area for the State. As of November 2021, there were 1,700 individuals waiting in jail for competency restoration treatment.
AB1630 will implement three of the recommendations published by the Incompetence to Stand Trial Work Group in November 2021. Specifically, AB1630 will amend provisions of the Penal Code to increase accountability, discourage unnecessary trials, and promote early access to treatment for the vulnerable individuals who become system-involved as the result of a mental illness.
I am asking the Senator to please SUPPORT AB1630.
Call script: “Hi, my name is __. I’m a California resident, and I am urging the Senator and the rest of the Appropriations Committee Members to support AB1630, the Vulnerable Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial Act, at the upcoming Senate Appropriations Hearing. Criminalizing mental illness is inhumane.”