ARIZONA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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SB 1311: material witnesses; contempt; detention; bond |
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PRIME SPONSOR: Senator Farnsworth E, LD 12 BILL STATUS: Judiciary |
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Modifies procedures for the arrest and
detention of a witness who fails to comply with a subpoena.
History
A party to a criminal case may request that the court issue a subpoena compelling a witness's attendance and testimony (A.R.S. §§ 13-4071, 13-4074). If the witness refuses to comply with the subpoena, the court may hold the witness in contempt (A.R.S. § 13-4073). The witness may also be liable to a defendant if damaged by the witness's noncompliance.
The court may also require a material witness in a criminal case to enter into a written undertaking agreeing to appear and testify or to forfeit an amount fixed by the judge (A.R.S. § 13-4081). The court also may order the detention of a material witness in a criminal prosecution who does not comply with a written undertaking (A.R.S. § 13-4083). The court may then order the witness to provide additional security funds, or if the witness cannot give additional security, for the parties to examine the witness within three days (A.R.S. §§ 13-4082, 13-4083).
Provisions
1. Repeals A.R.S. §§ 13-4081 through 13-4085, relating to written undertakings, securities, and the temporary detention of noncompliant material witnesses in criminal prosecutions (Sec. 3).
2. Defines material witness as a witness in a criminal matter who is called by either the state or the defendant and whose testimony is necessary for a fair determination of an issue in the case (Sec. 4).
Arrest and Detention
3. Permits a court to issue an arrest warrant for a witness who fails to comply with a properly served subpoena in a criminal case, and requires the arrested witness to be brought before the court as soon as practicable (Sec. 1).
4. Permits the court to issue a material witness warrant for a material witness in a criminal matter who willfully fails to comply with a properly served subpoena or order to appear, authorizing law enforcement to detain the witness until the witness can be brought before the court as soon as practicable (Sec. 4).
5. Permits the court, after giving a detained material witness an opportunity to be heard and finding that the witness is unlikely to comply with a future subpoena or order to appear, to order an appearance bond or to impose electronic monitoring until the witness testifies, or to order the witness's continued detention (Sec. 4).
6. Requires that a material witness who continues to be detained after an opportunity to be heard must either testify or be deposed within seven days of the court's continued detention order (Sec. 4).
a. Requires the court to release the material witness if not deposed within seven days;
b. Provides that the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure apply to any such deposition.
c. Provides that the Arizona Rules of Evidence apply to the use or admissibility of any such deposition.
7. Allows a detained material witness to be kept in a physically separate section from or be administratively segregated from any person who is charged with, adjudicated delinquent for, or convicted of a criminal offense (Sec. 4).
8. Provides that a juvenile material witness may be detained in a juvenile detention center or jail (Sec. 4).
9. Requires the court to release the material witness from detention and all court-ordered obligations, except the appearance bond, upon completion of the witness's testimony or deposition (Sec. 4).
Appearance Bond
10. Permits the state or a defendant in a grand jury proceeding or pending criminal action to certify, by motion, that a material witness's presence is required in court (Sec. 4).
11. Permits the court, upon finding that a material witness in a grand jury proceeding or pending criminal prosecution is unlikely to appear or testify, to require the witness to appear and post an appearance bond (Sec. 4).
a. Permits the court, upon notice to the witness, to modify the appearance bond to ensure the witness's appearance and testimony.
12. Permits the court to keep a material witness's appearance bond until final disposition of any contempt proceedings (Sec. 4).
Miscellaneous
13. Provides that a witness who disobeys a subpoena issued on behalf of a defendant is no longer liable to the defendant for damages caused by the noncompliance (Sec. 1).
14. Makes technical changes (Secs. 1–2).
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18. Fifty-fourth Legislature SB 1311
19. First Regular Session Version 1: Judiciary
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