Chapter 3. Administration Of Justice of California Government Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 6. >> Chapter 3.

The Legislature hereby declares that: (1) The uniform administration of justice throughout the State is a matter of statewide interest; (2) The prosecution and conduct of trials of persons accused of homicide should not be hampered or delayed by any lack of funds available to the counties for such purposes; (3) A county should not be required to bear the entire costs of a trial involving a homicide if such costs will seriously impair the finances of the county; and (4) It is the intention of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to provide for state assistance to counties in such emergency situations.

As used in this chapter, "costs incurred by the county" means all costs, except normal salaries and expenses, incurred by the county in bringing to trial or trials, including the trial or trials of, a person or persons for the offense of homicide, including costs, except normal salaries and expenses, incurred by the district attorney in investigation and prosecution, by the sheriff in investigation, by the public defender or court-appointed attorney or attorneys in investigation and defense, and all other costs, except normal salaries and expenses, incurred by the county in connection with bringing the person or persons to trial including the trial itself, which include extraordinary expenses for such services as witness fees and expenses, court-appointed expert witness fees and expenses, reporter fees, and costs in preparing transcripts. Trial costs shall also include all pretrials, hearings, and postconviction proceedings, if any. "Costs incurred by the county" do not include any costs paid by the superior court or for which the superior court is responsible.

(a) A county that is responsible for the cost of a trial or trials or any hearing of a person for the offense of homicide may apply to the Controller for reimbursement of the costs incurred by the county in excess of the amount of money derived by the county from a tax of 0.0125 of 1 percent of the full value of property assessed for purposes of taxation within the county.
  (b) The formula in this section shall apply to any homicide trial in which the commission of the crime occurred on or after January 1, 2005. Homicide trials for which the crime was committed before January 1, 2005, shall qualify under the reimbursement statute in effect before that date.
  (c) The Controller shall not reimburse any county for costs that exceed the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board' s standards for travel and per diem expenses. The Controller may reimburse extraordinary costs in unusual cases if the county provides sufficient justification of the need for these expenditures. Nothing in this section shall permit the reimbursement of costs for travel in excess of 1,000 miles on any single round trip, without the prior approval of the Attorney General.
  (d) Reimbursement funds appropriated pursuant to this section are available for three fiscal years from the date of the appropriation. After three fiscal years, any unused funds shall revert back to the General Fund.

(a) If the venue for trial of a homicide case has been changed from the county which is eligible for reimbursement under Section 15202 to a location more than 60 miles from the county seat of that county, and the district attorney of that county has entered into a contract with an attorney to try the case or an investigator to assist in the trial of the case, the Controller shall reimburse the county for the actual costs of the attorney or investigator under this section, at an hourly rate not to exceed the hourly rate charged state agencies by the Attorney General for similar attorney services or investigators, without further showing of justification. Nothing in this section shall permit the reimbursement of costs for travel in excess of 1,000 miles on any single round trip, without the prior approval of the Attorney General.
  (b) (1) This section shall apply to any homicide cases in which a final judgment was entered on or after January 1, 1990.
  (2) The limitation provided in this subdivision shall not apply to Sierra County. Instead, the County of Sierra may apply to the Controller for reimbursement pursuant to subdivision (a) for its costs incident to the prosecution of the homicide trial of People v. Corjasso.

If the county meets the conditions described in Section 15202 and applies to the State Controller for reimbursement pursuant to that section, and the State Controller determines that the reimbursement meets the provisions of Section 15201, the State Controller shall request the Director of Finance to include any amounts necessary to fulfill the purposes of Section 15202 annually in a request for deficiency appropriation in augmentation of the emergency fund.

The State Controller may establish rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this chapter.