Is a defendant entitled to discovery of a police officer's confidential personnel records?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from The PEOPLE V. HOLLEY, D055222, No. SCD215405 (Cal. App. 2010):

A defendant is entitled to discovery of a police officer's confidential personnel records if those files contain information that is potentially relevant to the defense. (Pitchess, supra, 11 Cal.3d at pp. 537-538; Evid. Code, 1043-1045.) The discovery procedure has two steps. First, the defendant must file a motion seeking such records, containing affidavits "showing good cause for the discovery or disclosure sought [and] setting forth the materiality thereof to the subject matter involved in the pending litigation." (Evid. Code, 1043, subd. (b)(3).) If good cause is shown, the trial court then reviews the records in camera to determine whether any of them are relevant to the intended defense. (Id., 1045, subd. (b).) A trial court's decision on the discoverability of material in police personnel files is reviewable under an abuse of discretion standard. (People v. Breaux (1991) 1 Cal.4th 281, 311-312.)

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