Source: https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/pitchess-v-superior-court-27826
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 18:32:45+00:00

Document:
[1a] Petitioner initially urges that the affidavits in support of the subpoena duces tecum are insufficient to justify discovery because they fail to demonstrate "good cause" with adequate specificity as required by Code of Civil Procedure sections 1985 and 2036. fn. 1 The contention is premised on the erroneous assumption that the statutory provisions governing discovery in civil actions apply to criminal proceedings.
On the face of the affidavits it is apparent that defendant could not "readily obtain the information through his own efforts." (Traynor, Ground Lost and Found in Criminal Discovery (1964) 39 N.Y.U.L.Rev. 228, 244; see also Hill v. Superior Court (1974) supra, 10 Cal.3d 812, 819; Ballard v. Superior Court (1966) supra, 64 Cal.2d 159, 167.) Though defendant was able to determine the identity of particular individuals who lodged complaints against deputy sheriffs, he cannot be held responsible for their [11 Cal.3d 538] unavailability or lack of memory, and he has no access to the sheriff's investigative records. Furthermore, the information which defendant seeks may have considerable significance to the preparation of his defense, and the documents have been requested with adequate specificity to preclude the possibility that defendant is engaging in a "fishing expedition." We therefore conclude that defendant demonstrated sufficient good cause under the appropriate standards of criminal procedure, as developed in case authority, to warrant the trial court in compelling discovery.
Evidence Code section 1040, therefore, represents the exclusive means by which a public entity may assert a claim of governmental privilege based on the necessity for secrecy. Evidence Code section 1042, subdivision (a), in turn, codifies the due process demand recognized by the United States Supreme Court that the prosecution cannot commence criminal proceedings "and then invoke its governmental privileges to deprive the accused of anything which might be material to his defense." fn. 6 (United States v. Reynolds (1953) supra, 345 U.S. 1, 12; also see Jencks v. United States (1957) 353 U.S. 657, 672 [1 L.Ed.2d 1103, 1114, 77 S.Ct. 1007]; Roviaro v. United States (1957) 353 U.S. 53, 60-61 [1 L.Ed.2d 639, 644-645, 77 S.Ct. 623].) In concert, the two provisions create an orderly and fair procedure designed to safeguard the legitimate interests of both the government and criminal defendants. By purporting to rely on the superseded common law rather than the statute, petitioner attempted to avoid the potential liabilities of the statutory scheme, but in so doing waived its benefits as well.
Evidence Code section 1042, subdivision (a), provides that if a claim of privilege is sustained in a criminal proceeding, "the presiding officer shall make such order or finding of fact adverse to the public entity bringing the proceeding as is required by law upon any issue in the proceeding to which the privileged information is material." As the information sought here is material solely to the issue of use of excessive force on specified previous occasions, sustaining a claim of privilege should only result in a finding of fact adverse to the People on the collateral issue.
­FN 1. Section 1985 provides in part: "An application before trial for a subpoena duces tecum shall be, or contain, an affidavit showing good cause for the production of the matters and things described in such subpoena and shall specify the exact matters or things desired to be produced, shall set forth in full detail the materiality thereof to the issues involved in the case, and shall state that the witness has the desired matters or things in his possession or under his control."
Section 2036, subdivision (a), provides: "A party required to show 'good cause' to obtain discovery under any provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1985) or of Article 3 (commencing with Section 2016) of Chapter 3 of this title shall show specific facts justifying discovery and mere proof of the relevance of the information sought to the subject matter of the action shall not be sufficient."
­FN 2. Section 1103 provides: "In a criminal action, evidence of the character or a trait of character (in the form of an opinion, evidence of reputation, or evidence of specific instances of conduct) of the victim of the crime for which the defendant is being prosecuted is not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if such evidence is: (a) Offered by the defendant to prove conduct of the victim in conformity with such character or trait of character. (b) Offered by the prosecution to rebut evidence adduced by the defendant under subdivision (a)."
­FN 3. We note parenthetically that the petitioner himself does not always preserve confidentiality. In an affidavit Robert D. Campbell, captain assigned to the administrative division of the sheriff's department, conceded that the "purpose of these investigations is to enable the Department to ascertain the existence or non-existence of misconduct on the part of Sheriff's deputies .... The final results of these investigations and the information acquired from them are used in appropriate cases by the Office of the County Counsel as attorneys for the County of Los Angeles in connection with defending civil suits arising out of the incident investigated."
­FN 4. Section 1040 provides: "(a) As used in this section, 'official information' means information acquired in confidence by a public employee in the course of his duty and not open, or officially disclosed, to the public prior to the time the claim of privilege is made.
"(2) Disclosure of the information is against the public interest because there is a necessity for preserving the confidentiality of the information that outweighs the necessity for disclosure in the interest of justice; but no privilege may be claimed under this paragraph if any person authorized to do so has consented that the information be disclosed in the proceeding. In determining whether disclosure of the information is against the public interest, the interest of the public entity as a party in the outcome of the proceeding may not be considered."
­FN 6. Section 1042, subdivision (a), states: "Except where disclosure is forbidden by an act of the Congress of the United States, if a claim of privilege under this article by the state or a public entity in this state is sustained in a criminal proceeding, the presiding officer shall make such order or finding of fact adverse to the public entity bringing the proceeding as is required by law upon any issue in the proceeding to which the privileged information is material."
SCOCAL, Pitchess v. Superior Court , 11 Cal.3d 531 available at: (https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/pitchess-v-superior-court-27826) (last visited Sunday April 21, 2019).

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