The California Public Records Act (“CPRA”) strikes a balance between the need for privacy in certain records and the people’s interest in transparent government. The reality of the balance is that it may – and often does – weigh heavily upon agencies that must respond to CPRA requests. This blog post discusses several topics related
AB 1599 Seeks To Modify SB 1421, Potentially Further Expanding Public Access to Peace Officer Records Related to Sexual Assault
On January 7, 2020, Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) reintroduced Assembly Bill 1599, which proposes to expand upon Senate Bill 1421 by making more records relating to officer-involved sexual assault available to the public. SB 1421 changed the status quo by amending Government Code section 832.7 to generally allow disclosure of records related to
Three is Company: Police Departments Usage of Drones and Robots and What it Means for Employer-Employee Relations
This post was authored by Alysha Stein-Manes and Daniel Seitz
Remote surveillance is an area of expanding interest for law enforcement agencies. Police departments continue to equip their sworn officers with body-mounted video cameras (“body cams”), and, in California, the Legislature has begun to regulate discoverability of body cam footage. Agencies in California and across
Budget Trailer Bill SB 94 Clears Up Ambiguity Regarding Public Access to Body Camera Videos, Amending AB 748
This blog post was authored by J. Scott Tiedemann & Lars T. Reed
On Thursday, June 27, 2019, Governor Newsom signed into law the new State Budget as well as accompanying budget trailer bills. One of the budget trailer bills, Senate Bill 94, contains clean-up language for provisions added to
Tips for Responding to SB 1421 Requests
This post was authored by J. Scott Tiedemann & Lars T. Reed.
On January 1, 2019, California Senate Bill 1421 went into effect. The new law allows members of the public to obtain certain peace officer personnel records that were previously available only through the Pitchess procedure by making a request under the California
Public Records Act Requires Disclosure Of Names Of Officers From U.C. Davis Pepper Spray Reports
Perhaps because California citizens have become more interested in local politics in recent years, public agencies have received a marked increase in the number of requests for information under the California Public Records Act. The Act requires agencies to disclose materials to the public upon request (subject to payment of fees), unless the materials fall
Employee Personnel Records: Less Confidential Than You May Think
This guest post was authored by Peter J. Brown
In Marken v. Santa Monica Unified School District, a School District investigated a complaint that a high school teacher had sexually harassed a 13 year old student. The District determined that the teacher had violated the sexual harassment policy and issued him a reprimand. The