HPM 120.1: Discovery of Peace Officer Personnel Records Flashcards
What is a Pitchess Motion?
A legal process which enables the defense to attempt to
obtain peace officer personnel records or information contained therein.
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Evidence Code Section 1043 requires that a defendant must file a written motion with the proper court. Such motion must be served on the agency having custody or control of the records either by ____ or ____.
Mail, In-person
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If served by mail, the motion must be served ____ days prior to the date of the hearing.
20
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If personally served, it must be served ____ days prior to the hearing date pursuant to Code of Civil Procedures Section 1005(B)(Annex L).
15
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The motion must include the following (4) things:
(1) Identification of the proceeding, the party seeking discovery, the peace officer(s) whose records are sought, the agency which has custody of
such records, and the time and place at which the motion is to be heard.
(2) A description of the type of records sought.
(3) Defense attorney’s declaration showing good cause for discovery, setting forth the relevancy of the records to the subject matter involved in the case, and stating upon reasonable belief that the agency identified has
such records.
(4) Where excessive force is alleged, Evidence Code Section 1046 (Annex H) requires that the motion also include a copy of the police report setting forth the circumstances of the stop and the arrest.
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Service of the motion may be accepted at the Area office or at Legal Coordination Unit (LCU). The recipient of the motion should ensure that service is effected within the proper time limits, ___ days if served by mail and ___ days if personally served.
20 days Mail / 15 days personally
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When a motion is received at the Area office, Legal
Coordination Unit (LCU) should/shall be notified immediately with the following information:
should
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Occasionally, the Area will be required to provide copies of complaint investigations which are not maintained at Headquarters. In those instances, LCU will ask the involved Area to copy the investigations, place copies in and seal the envelope. Upon receipt of the envelope, the Area will do the following:
(a) Assign a representative from the Area
(b) Advise LCU and the Officer(s) whose records were sought of the results of the hearing
(c) If the judge returns the records to the Area representative, they should be returned to LCU for destruction or destroyed at the Area office.
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If assigned representatives from the Area provide copies of complaint investigations which are not maintained at Headquarters may not be ____ of the motion
Subject
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representative from the Area delivering the records to the court at the time of the hearing and act as custodian of the records. The records shall/should not be left with the court unattended.
should
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The representative should also have the Officer’s
Field folder available for review by the judge. The Field folder should/shall be given to the judge only upon request.
should
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The representative should/ shall remain in court during the entire proceeding.
shall
Often the judge asks questions of the custodian even when there are no records to disclose.
There have been instances where judges have ordered the production of peace officer personnel records without adhering to the Pitchess Motion process.
In any such instance, an affidavit prepared by the Area office and signed by the Area commander should/shall accompany the records to the court.
shall
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The affidavit and the records should/shall be hand carried by an Area representative to the judge in a sealed envelope. After the court hearing, the judge’s ruling on disclosure should/shall be communicated to LCU as soon as possible.
shall/shall
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