Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 13370. Section 13370.
(a)
(1)
It is the intent of the Legislature to create a workable system of criminal justice data transparency whereby law enforcement prosecution agencies will gather complete, accurate, and timely data in a uniform format, and make that data available to the public in a modern, open, electronic format that is machine-readable and readily accessible through an application program interface. In order that meaningful discussions can occur regarding criminal justice and its most challenging issues, including those regarding criminal caseloads, plea bargaining, race, mass incarceration, equity, and homelessness, the Legislature finds that it is an important state interest to implement a data collection,
aggregation, and publishing process for criminal prosecutions to promote criminal justice data transparency. This data would be comprised of publishable statistics and other data from statewide prosecution offices. This section shall be referred to as the Justice Data Accountability and Transparency Act, “the Act,” or “JDATA.”
(2)
It is the intent of the Legislature to create a reliable and robust methodology that is consistent county-to-county so that statewide data and trends may be accurately tracked. Further, the legislation shall set low technological and resource barriers so that every affected office may meaningfully participate to the fullest intent of this article.
(3)
The expediency and accuracy of the data is best served by
the Department of Justice as a single data aggregator and repository unit. The participation of the department as the final point of collection, aggregation, and publishing of this data is more efficient, will ensure the uniformity and accuracy of the data, and, by providing the technological resources and aggregation and publication of all data, will allow offices that lack adequate technology or resources to comply with the mandate. As used in this paragraph, technological resources means providing the basic systems and support necessary to receive the case data described in this article in standard formats from prosecution agencies statewide and aggregate that data using appropriate means developed by the department, and then publish the data in a
format that will allow users to easily navigate and access the data they require, for example, on an internet website.
(b)
(1)
The department shall have the following objectives and mandate:
(A)
Collection of the data described in subdivision (e), hereinafter referred to as data elements, within the timeframes described in this section from all state and local prosecutor offices that prosecute misdemeanors or felonies or both, including county district attorney offices, city attorney offices, and the Attorney General, hereinafter referred to as agencies. Collection of data elements includes providing cooperation and assistance to participating agencies and developing consistent and clear guidelines for how agencies are to
define data elements transmitted to the department. The department shall develop consistent definitions and formats for data elements to ensure success of comparing metrics created using said data elements between jurisdictions.
(B)
Transmission of data elements, defined as the method designated by the department for the participating agency to provide collected data elements to the department.
(C)
Aggregation of data elements, defined as collecting data elements gathered from multiple agencies in such a way that they can support metrics, defined as the combination of data elements used to track outcomes on any given process or decision point, developed by the department, that may be compared between jurisdictions.
(D)
Development of metrics, defined as using industry-appropriate methods and technology and cooperation with participating agencies to create accurate, actionable, and digestible metrics using data elements submitted by the agencies. The methods implemented must ensure that the metrics developed can be compared between jurisdictions.
(E)
Consistent with subdivision (g), publication of metrics, defined as using appropriate technology, methods, and interface design to make metrics available to the public, which may include the use of web publishing, the use of interactive portals or other applications to not only display metrics, but to allow metrics to
be compared and filtered so that each metric may be analyzed and dissected by multiple factors, including other metrics and filters including, but not limited to, defendant, victim, and case characteristics. This publication shall be made using a modern, open, and electronic format, such as comma-separated values (CSV) or similar file format, that will allow the user to download the data sets and conduct their own analyses. The public interface for metrics shall also make raw, case-level data available for download so that independent analyses can be conducted using the data. The department shall also ensure that personal identifying
information is not published except as allowed by law, and the use of anonymized data may be employed for this purpose.
(F)
By October 1, 2023, the department shall establish the Prosecutorial Transparency Advisory Board for the purpose of ensuring transparency, accountability, and equitable access to
prosecutorial data. The primary responsibilities of the board shall be providing guidance to the department on any and all draft rules, regulations, policies, plans, reports, or other decisions made by the department in regard to this Act. The board shall include the following members:
(i)
The Attorney General, or their designee.
(ii)
The president of the California Public Defenders Association, or their designee, who shall consult with other members of the California Public Defenders Association to represent the geographic, population, and county size diversity of the state.
(iii)
The president of the California District Attorneys Association, or their designee, who shall consult with other members
of the California District Attorneys Association to represent the geographic, population, and county size diversity of the state.
(iv)
An advisory committee member of the Prosecutors Alliance of California, or their designee, who shall consult with other advisory committee members and members of the Prosecutors Alliance of California to represent the geographic, population, and county size diversity of the state.
(v)
The chairperson of the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code, or their designee.
(vi)
A university professor who specializes in criminal justice data.
(vii)
A data scientist who specializes in criminal justice data.
(viii)
Two representatives of human or civil rights tax-exempt organizations who specialize in civil or human rights.
(ix)
Two representatives of community organizations who specialize in civil or human rights and criminal justice.
(x)
Two representatives of tax-exempt organizations who specialize in criminal justice data.
(xi)
Two individuals who have direct experience being prosecuted in the state’s criminal legal system.
(xii)
Two individuals who have direct experience being a victim of a crime or the spouse, parents, children, siblings, or guardian of a crime victim, if the victim is deceased, a minor,
or physically or psychologically incapacitated.
(xiii)
Two representatives of organizations that provide services to crime victims.
(G)
(i)
By July 1, 2024, the department, in consultation with the Prosecutorial Transparency Advisory Board, shall develop a data dictionary that includes standardized definitions for each data element in subdivision (e) so that data elements transmitted to the department are uniform across all jurisdictions, taking into account any technical and practical limitations on the collection of that data element.
(ii)
Upon completion of the data dictionary, the department shall share the data dictionary with all agencies statewide.
(2)
The department shall assess and develop its capabilities in carrying out its functions using the following guidelines. The department shall do all of the following in carrying out its objectives and mandate:
(A)
Use standardized practices in developing web pages, using what is commonly referred to as open web standards or standard best practices such as those recommendations published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) or those published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
(B)
Employ appropriate security measures and best practices for data elements transmitted and stored to account for personal identifying information and other sensitive information as governed by state and federal law. These processes shall include the remote backing-up
of all data, including data elements and metrics, as well as the logging and detection of data-related events.
(C)
Use technology that is scalable so as to accommodate large increases in volume of data.
(D)
Staff personnel familiar with web user-interface coding and web service coding.
(E)
Except as provided in subdivisions (g) and (h), make all data available, including raw data elements and metrics, in a machine readable format with open format, nonproprietary file formats that will allow for download of complete data sets.
(F)
Except as provided in subdivisions (g) and (h), make all data, including data elements and metrics, available in a format that will allow users to easily navigate and access the data they require using modern web Application Programming Interfaces that allow access to data directly through programs in addition to internet website publishing.
(G)
Assess and create processes to collect, aggregate, and validate data elements transmitted
by an agency, to include methods to identify duplicate, overlapping, or missing data and processes for the rejection and retransmission of invalid data.
(H)
Test data quality to facilitate the dissemination of accurate, valid, reliable, and complete criminal justice data.
(I)
Develop methods for archiving data, retrieving archived data, and data editing.
(c)
(1)
The operation of this article is contingent upon an adequate appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes of this article.
(2)
Any funds
disbursed to effectuate this article shall be used only for the purpose of administering this article.
(3)
The recipient of any funds disbursed to effectuate this article shall provide a full public accounting of all of those funds.
(d)
(1)
Beginning March 1, 2027, every agency statewide shall collect every data element in subdivision (e) for cases in which a decision to reject charges or to initiate criminal proceedings by way of complaint or indictment has been made by that agency from that date forward. Each data element shall be collected according to the definitions provided in this section with any ambiguities to be resolved by the department in the data dictionary described in clause (i) of subparagraph (I) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) for
uniform application statewide. Each data element shall be submitted in a format designated by the department to be the most appropriate and cost effective to carry out the objectives of this article. Any ambiguities regarding the substance or timing of the collection described in this paragraph shall be resolved by the department by letter guidelines issued to all prosecution agencies upon consultation with the Prosecutorial Transparency Advisory Board.
(2)
Beginning June 1, 2027, every agency statewide, at the direction of the department, shall begin transmitting its required data elements to the department. The transmission shall occur on a quarterly basis until June 1, 2028, after which data elements shall be transmitted on a monthly basis. The department may require any agency to transmit data to the department before the
deadlines stated in this paragraph for quality control purposes, including to ensure data consistency, compliance with standardized formats as determined by the department, and to ensure the agencies are ready to fully comply with this section as required for their deadlines.
(3)
Beginning June 1, 2027, the department shall begin collecting data elements from all agencies statewide according to the timetable in paragraph (2). The department shall aggregate data elements for all agencies in order to publish this data from those agencies by June 1, 2028. This publication shall continue on a quarterly basis for one year, and then the publication shall occur on a monthly basis thereafter.
(4)
It shall be an express exception to any sealing of a case or expungement of a case,
whether by court order or by operation of law, or any rule of confidentiality or rule otherwise prohibiting disclosure provided by law that all data, pursuant to this section, shall be provided by the agencies to the
department.
(e)
Agencies shall collect and transmit to the department the following data elements in accordance with this section and under direction from the department. The department shall have discretion to resolve ambiguities in this subdivision consistent with the purposes of this section, including the development of uniform definitions for the required data elements. The department shall also have discretion to determine the form and format in which data elements shall be captured and transmitted.
Except as provided in subdivisions (g) and (h), for each case, the following data elements
shall be gathered and published as described in this section. For purposes of this article, a case is defined as a collection of charges filed by an agency on a particular date to initiate a criminal prosecution for a felony or a misdemeanor. A case dismissed and later refiled shall only be counted as one case. The collection of charges filed by an agency against multiple defendants in a single charging document shall each be an individual case for each such defendant.
(1)
The court case number used by the court to identify a case. The court case number shall
be assigned to each case and charge within a case prosecuted by the agency.
(2)
The Internal Case Number (ICN) assigned to each case by the Case Management System (CMS). This number shall be assigned to each case and charge within a case prosecuted by the agency. If the agency does not currently use an ICN, the agency shall create and apply an ICN as directed by the department.
(3)
Whether the case is pending, has concluded, is on appeal, or is inactive, such as when a defendant is in warrant status.
(4)
The ZIP Code where most of the acts comprising the crimes charged occurred.
(5)
The date of the crime.
If multiple crime dates are alleged, the date of the crime shall be the earliest date alleged in the charging document.
(6)
The name and Originating Agency Identifier (ORI), as designated by the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, of the law enforcement agency that investigated the case for submission to the prosecutor.
(7)
The ZIP Code of the arrest.
(8)
The date of the arrest.
(9)
Each charge and enhancement, including any special circumstance or special allegation, referred by law enforcement, including a uniform description, statute number, and level, either felony or misdemeanor.
(10)
The date on which charges were filed, the case was discharged, or the case was returned for further investigation.
(11)
Each charge, enhancement, and special circumstance or special allegation filed by the agency in the initial charging document.
(12)
For each case declined to prosecute, each charge that the agency declined to prosecute.
(13)
The county in which the case was filed.
(14)
The date on which the defendant initially entered a plea to the charges.
(15)
The date on which the defendant first appeared in a case, whether
or not an arraignment took place.
(16)
The date on which bail or bond was set by the court in open court and the amount of bail set.
(17)
The agency pretrial release recommendation for each case, as stated in open court, as described in standardized terms developed by the department.
(18)
The prosecution bail recommendation for each case stated in open court according to standardized terms developed by the department.
(19)
The court pretrial detention determination at arraignment as described in standardized terms developed by the department.
(20)
Whether the defendant posted bail.
(21)
The date of any release from custody, the reason for release, and the terms of that release. The department shall develop standardized terms for this data element.
(22)
The start and end date for every period of pretrial detention for a defendant in a case and the reason for that detention as described in standardized terms provided by the department.
(23)
The date of any amendments adding charges or enhancements to a charging document, including a complaint, indictment, or information.
(24)
The charges, enhancements, special circumstances, or special allegations added to a charging document by amendment.
(25)
The date on which the first plea bargain offer was made by the agency to each defendant. For purposes of this section, plea bargain offer is defined as the terms of resolution of a case made by the agency that are ultimately transmitted to the defendant by their counsel for consideration, which is commonly called a “bona fide offer” or, if the defendant is in propria persona, the first offer to resolve a case transmitted to the defendant on any given date.
(26)
The terms of the initial plea bargain offer communicated to the defendant or the defendant’s counsel. The department shall develop a standardized method to capture the terms of the initial plea bargain offer according to uniform definitions.
(27)
Whether the prosecutor determined that the defendant was eligible
for diversion. For purposes of this section, diversion is defined as a program, either as created and defined by state law or an agency, by which charges are reduced or dismissed as part of participation in alternatives to prosecution such as counseling, therapy, restorative justice principles, or periods of noncriminality.
(28)
Whether the defendant was offered a diversion program by the agency.
(29)
Whether the court granted or denied a motion for diversion as allowed by law, if such a motion was made.
(30)
Whether the defendant agreed to participate in a diversion program.
(31)
Whether the agency opposed the defendant’s request for diversion, if that
request was made in open court, and the reason for the opposition, if given in open court, using standardized
terms, including the following:
(A)
“Public safety.”
(B)
“Criminal history.”
(C)
“Failure of the defendant to consent.”
(D)
“Failure of the defendant to comply with current or prior diversion program terms.”
(E)
“Statutory ineligibility.”
(F)
“Discretion.”
(G)
“Other.”
(32)
The type of diversion according to standardized terms to be developed by the department, including terms to describe each of
the following:
(A)
Mental health diversion pursuant to Section 1001.36.
(B)
Veteran diversion pursuant to Section 1001.80.
(C)
Misdemeanor diversion pursuant to Section 1001.95.
(D)
Drug diversion pursuant to Section 1000.
(E)
Other diversion.
(33)
Whether the prosecutor determined that the defendant was eligible for collaborative court. For purposes of this section, collaborative court is a program wherein the prosecution of the case is stayed in order to engage in any collaborative process, such as by the agency, the public defender, and the
court, to address underlying issues such as chemical dependency or mental health issues.
(34)
Whether the court granted or denied a motion for collaborative court, if such a motion was made.
(35)
Whether the defendant agreed to participate in a collaborative court program.
(36)
Whether the agency opposed the defendant’s request for collaborative court, if that request was made in open court, and the reason, if given in open court, for the opposition, using standardized terms, including the following:
(A)
“Public safety.”
(B)
“Criminal history.”
(C)
“Failure of the defendant to consent.”
(D)
“Failure of the defendant to comply with current or prior collaborative court program terms.”
(E)
“Statutory ineligibility.”
(F)
“Discretion.”
(G)
“Other.”
(37)
The type of collaborative court according to standardized terms to be developed by the department, including terms to describe each of the following:
(A)
Mental health collaborative court.
(B)
Veteran collaborative
court.
(C)
Drug or DUI collaborative court.
(D)
Community or homeless collaborative court.
(E)
Other collaborative court.
(38)
The date on which a charge was resolved, whether by dismissal, acquittal, conviction, or other grounds.
(39)
The disposition of each charge and enhancement, including any special circumstance or special allegation. Specifically, whether the charge or enhancement was resolved by dismissal, acquittal or not true finding, or conviction. If conviction, whether the conviction was by plea or by trial.
(40)
For any
special circumstance alleged in the charging document, whether the defendant was alleged to be the actual killer as defined by paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 189.
(41)
The date a sentence was imposed by the court.
(42)
The sentence imposed by the court, including any
restitution, fines, and period of incarceration imposed.
(43)
Whether or not the agency engaged in any postconviction resentencing, defined for purposes of this section as any resentencing where, after judgment and sentencing on a case, the agency revisited the sentence, including, but not limited to, proceedings under Section 1172.1, and the outcome of that resentencing.
(44)
Whether or not the agency engaged in any parole proceedings, the formal recommendation of the agency during that proceeding, and the outcome of that proceeding.
(45)
Whether or not the agency engaged in any commutation or pardon proceedings, the official recommendation of the agency for those proceedings, and the outcome of
those proceedings.
(46)
Whether a motion was made by a party under Section 231.7 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the party making the motion, and the result of that motion.
(47)
Whether a criminal informant was used and whether that informant was used in a custodial or noncustodial setting. This paragraph shall apply only if the existence and nature of the informant was disclosed as part of the public proceedings of the case.
(48)
Whether competency proceedings were initiated under Section 1368, 1368.1, or 1369 and the result of those proceedings.
(49)
Whether the last attorney of record at the conclusion of the case was private, publicly retained, or whether the
defendant was in propria persona.
(50)
Whether the defendant pled not guilty by reason of insanity.
(51)
Whether conservatorship proceedings were instituted.
(52)
For each defendant charged in a case, all of the following:
(A)
Their name.
(B)
The Criminal Identification and Information/State Identification number assigned by the department.
(C)
The date of birth.
(D)
The defendant’s anonymized identifier created by CMS within the agency. If the agency does not currently use an anonymized identifier created by CMS, the agency shall create and apply an anonymized identifier as directed by the department.
(E)
The defendant’s
age at the time of the crime.
(F)
The defendant’s race as determined according to
standardized definitions developed by the department.
(G)
The source of the information regarding the defendant’s race. The department shall develop a standardized list of sources of information regarding a defendant’s race, including, but not limited to, defendant’s advocate or record of arrests and prosecution.
(H)
The defendant’s ethnicity as determined according to standardized definitions developed by the department.
(I)
The source of the information regarding the defendant’s ethnicity. The department shall develop a standardized list of sources of information regarding a defendant’s ethnicity.
(J)
Whether the defendant or their counsel has identified in open court or in a filing with the court that the defendant has a physical disability or a disability as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
(K)
The type of disability so identified, if any.
(L)
The defendant’s gender.
(M)
Whether the defendant has disclosed to the prosecution that they identify as transgender, nonbinary, or intersex.
(N)
The defendant’s county of residence, if reflected in the court record, including, if the defendant is unhoused, an approximation of the county of residence as determined from direction by the department.
(O)
Whether the defendant was on probation at the time the acts comprising the crime charged occurred.
(P)
Whether the defendant was on parole at the time the acts comprising the crime charged occurred.
(Q)
Whether or not the defendant was required to register as a sex offender under Sections 290 to 290.024, inclusive, at the time the acts comprising the crime charged occurred.
(53)
For each victim, all of the following:
(A)
Whether there was a victim identified.
(B)
The race.
(C)
The ethnicity.
(D)
The age at the time of the crime.
(E)
Gender identification.
(F)
Whether the victim made a request to the court to drop the charges or indicated to the court that they would not be willing to testify or that they would be willing to testify.
(54)
For each agency or division, if only select divisions
perform criminal prosecution within an agency, all of the following data shall be reported by July 1 each year:
(A)
The number of full-time or full-time equivalent attorneys who carry nonappellate adult criminal caseloads as of the reporting date.
(B)
The number of part-time attorneys who carry nonappellate adult criminal caseloads as of the reporting date.
(C)
The number of investigators employed by the office as of the reporting date.
(D)
The number of personnel dedicated to providing victim services employed by the office as of the reporting date.
(E)
The average annual felony caseload for
attorneys who carry nonappellate adult criminal caseloads for the preceding calendar year.
(F)
The average annual misdemeanor caseload for attorneys who carry nonappellate adult criminal caseloads for the preceding calendar year.
(G)
The office limits, if any, regarding the number of felony cases a single attorney can carry over a one-year period.
(H)
The office limits, if any, regarding the number of misdemeanor cases a single attorney can carry over a one-year period.
(I)
The number of victims the prosecutor’s victim’s services unit contacted, and number of victims the prosecutor’s victim’s services unit provided services to during the reporting period.
For purposes of this section, services are defined as tangible resources or assistance with recovering tangible resources including, but not limited to, seeking reimbursement from the California Victim Compensation Board, residence relocation, or application for a U visa. Services do not include informing victims of court dates and relaying case information or offers to plea a case.
(f)
(1)
All of the following data shall be collected by the department from the appropriate division within the department with respect to each defendant in the cases identified and reported by a prosecuting agency pursuant to subdivision (e):
(A)
The number of prior felony convictions and statutory charges comprising prior felony convictions.
(B)
The number of prior felony arrests.
(C)
The number of misdemeanor arrests and convictions and statutory charges comprising prior misdemeanor convictions.
(D)
Whether an appeal was filed following the disposition of the case, the basis for the appeal, whether the appeal was contested by the prosecuting agency, and the resolution of the appeal.
(2)
The division shall include the Criminal Identification and Information/State Identification number assigned to each defendant with the data provided in paragraph (1).
(g)
(1)
Except
as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) and notwithstanding any other law, the department shall publish the information contained in the data elements described in subdivisions (e) and (f).
(2)
The following information shall not be published:
(A)
The defendant’s name.
(B)
The defendant’s date of birth.
(C)
The criminal identification and information/state identification number assigned to each defendant.
(D)
The defendant’s anonymized identifier created by CMS within the agency.
(E)
The ICN assigned to each case by the agency CMS.
(F)
The court case number used by the court to identify a case.
(G)
Any other personally identifying information or information that could reasonably lead to reidentification of an individual charged with a crime or an individual who is the victim of a crime, as defined by the department in consultation with the Prosecutorial Transparency Advisory Board through regulations. The department, in consultation with the
Prosecutorial Transparency Advisory Board, shall develop protocols and regulations to protect personally identifying information and privacy while maximizing the data available to the public.
(3)
Dissemination of data under subparagraph (Q) of paragraph (52) of subdivision (e) shall comply with Sections 290.45, 290.46, and 290.021.
(h)
Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (g), subdivision (g) of Section 11105, and subdivision (a) of Section 13305, every bona fide research institution concerned with the quality of the criminal legal system may be provided with the information contained in the data elements described in subdivisions (e) and (f), including the information described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g), as required for the performance of its duties, including the conduct of research. The material identifying individuals shall only be provided for research and
statistical activities and shall not be transferred, revealed, or used for purposes other than research or statistical activities. Reports or publications derived from this information shall not identify specific individuals. The department, in consultation with the Prosecutorial Transparency Advisory Board, shall develop regulations consistent with this subdivision.