SECTIONS 1350 - California Statutes

EVIDENCE CODE

SECTION 1350

1350. (a) In a criminal proceeding charging a serious felony,
evidence of a statement made by a declarant is not made inadmissible
by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness, and
all of the following are true:
(1) There is clear and convincing evidence that the declarant's
unavailability was knowingly caused by, aided by, or solicited by the
party against whom the statement is offered for the purpose of
preventing the arrest or prosecution of the party and is the result
of the death by homicide or the kidnapping of the declarant.
(2) There is no evidence that the unavailability of the declarant
was caused by, aided by, solicited by, or procured on behalf of, the
party who is offering the statement.
(3) The statement has been memorialized in a tape recording made
by a law enforcement official, or in a written statement prepared by
a law enforcement official and signed by the declarant and notarized
in the presence of the law enforcement official, prior to the death
or kidnapping of the declarant.
(4) The statement was made under circumstances which indicate its
trustworthiness and was not the result of promise, inducement,
threat, or coercion.
(5) The statement is relevant to the issues to be tried.
(6) The statement is corroborated by other evidence which tends to
connect the party against whom the statement is offered with the
commission of the serious felony with which the party is charged. The
corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows the commission of
the offense or the circumstances thereof.
(b) If the prosecution intends to offer a statement pursuant to
this section, the prosecution shall serve a written notice upon the
defendant at least 10 days prior to the hearing or trial at which the
prosecution intends to offer the statement, unless the prosecution
shows good cause for the failure to provide that notice. In the event
that good cause is shown, the defendant shall be entitled to a
reasonable continuance of the hearing or trial.
(c) If the statement is offered during trial, the court's
determination shall be made out of the presence of the jury. If the
defendant elects to testify at the hearing on a motion brought
pursuant to this section, the court shall exclude from the
examination every person except the clerk, the court reporter, the
bailiff, the prosecutor, the investigating officer, the defendant and
his or her counsel, an investigator for the defendant, and the
officer having custody of the defendant. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the defendant's testimony at the hearing shall not
be admissible in any other proceeding except the hearing brought on
the motion pursuant to this section. If a transcript is made of the
defendant's testimony, it shall be sealed and transmitted to the
clerk of the court in which the action is pending.
(d) As used in this section, "serious felony" means any of the
felonies listed in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of the Penal
Code or any violation of Section 11351, 11352, 11378, or 11379 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(e) If a statement to be admitted pursuant to this section
includes hearsay statements made by anyone other than the declarant
who is unavailable pursuant to subdivision (a), those hearsay
statements are inadmissible unless they meet the requirements of an
exception to the hearsay rule.