Assemblyman Marc Steinorth Passes Court Efficiency Legislation

Press Release

Sacramento, CA – Today the California State Assembly unanimously passed Assemblyman Steinorth’s AB 1867. This legislation allows courts to issue certified prior conviction records electronically as photocopies rather than requiring electronic signatures or watermarks.

“With courts being under-funded and under-staffed, it’s critical to make the most of existing resources and infrastructure,” said Steinorth. “We can’t afford a government stuck in the past. Modernizing outdated systems is key to achieving cost-savings and efficiency.”

Certified prior conviction records are records of previous convictions, necessary to present in court as evidence that a defendant has committed a prior crime. Because few courts are equipped to use official watermarks or electronic signatures, most courts are relegated to operate in an old-fashioned system, where the records must be transmitted as regular hard copies. Consequently, district attorneys’ offices find themselves travelling the state to retrieve the documents from other county courthouses, which is costly and time-consuming.

“We would like to obtain these records from court clerks’ offices via email or fax,” stated Sean Hoffman on behalf of the California District Attorneys Association. “Right now, we cannot do either of these things, because a scanned, faxed, or electronic copy of a certified copy of a prior conviction from the court is inadmissible. [AB 1867] represents an important step in modernizing the way California courts operate.”

AB 1867 now moves to the California State Senate.

Assemblyman Steinorth represents the 40th Assembly District which includes Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Highland, Loma Linda, and Redlands.

Posted in:

Leave a Reply