California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Perez, D070733 (Cal. App. 2017):
Under Pitchess, a defendant "has a limited right to discovery of peace officer personnel records." (California Highway Patrol v. Superior Court (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 1010, 1019.) The defendant must file a motion supported by " '[a]ffidavits showing good cause for the discovery or disclosure sought, setting forth the materiality thereof to the subject matter involved in the pending litigation and stating upon reasonable belief that such governmental agency identified has the records or information from the records.' " (Ibid., quoting Evid. Code, 1043, subd. (b)(2), (3).) "If a defendant shows good cause, the trial court examines the relevant materials in camera to determine whether disclosure should be made." (People v. Gutierrez (2003) 112 Cal.App.4th 1463, 1473.)
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