Opinion ID: 2630573
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of Mandatory Protective Order Under Section 1045(e)

Text: Section 1045(e) provides: The court shall, in any case or proceeding permitting the disclosure or discovery of any peace or custodial officer records requested pursuant to Section 1043, order that the records disclosed or discovered may not be used for any purpose other than a court proceeding pursuant to applicable law. The parties disagree about the meaning of the phrase, a court proceeding pursuant to applicable law. Petitioner contends it refers to any court proceeding, whether or not in the case in which disclosure was sought, provided such use complies with applicable provisions of the law of evidence. The city attorney, on behalf of the custodian of records, argues that, in the context of the Pitchess scheme of which it is a part, the phrase refers to the case for which the information was sought. Our role in construing a statute is to ascertain the intent of the Legislature so as to effectuate the purpose of the law. ( People v. Jefferson (1999) 21 Cal.4th 86, 94, 86 Cal.Rptr.2d 893, 980 P.2d 441.) Because the statutory language is generally the most reliable indicator of that intent, we look first at the words themselves, giving them their usual and ordinary meaning. ( People v. Lawrence (2000) 24 Cal.4th 219, 230, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d 570, 6 P.3d 228.) We do not, however, consider the statutory language in isolation, but rather examine the entire substance of the statute in order to determine the scope and purpose of the provision, construing its words in context and harmonizing its various parts. ( People v. Acosta (2002) 29 Cal.4th 105, 112, 124 Cal.Rptr.2d 435, 52 P.3d 624.) Petitioner contends the legislative history of section 1045(e) strongly supports his interpretation. He points out that twice, in 1978 and again in 1982, the Legislature considered and rejected an amendment to section 1045 that would have restricted use of the information disclosed on a Pitchess motion to the particular case in which the disclosure was made. As introduced on January 27, 1978, Senate Bill No. 1436 (1977-1978 Reg. Sess.), the original legislation governing release of information from peace officer personnel records, contained no provision for a protective order. Then, on August 7, 1978, the bill was amended to include the following language: (g) Whenever a court orders disclosure of records or information obtained therefrom pursuant to this section, use of such records or information shall be limited to the litigation in aid of which access to the records or information was sought, and any records obtained pursuant to such an order of disclosure or any copies thereof shall be returned to the department or governmental agency upon conclusion of that litigation. (Assem. Amend, to Sen. Bill No. 1436 (1977-1978 Reg. Sess.) Aug. 7, 1978, italics omitted.) A subsequent Assembly amendment to Senate Bill No. 1436, on August 30,1978, however, deleted that language and replaced it with that currently in section 1045, subdivision (d): Upon motion seasonably made by the governmental agency which has custody or control of the records to be examined or by the officer whose records are sought, and upon good cause showing the necessity thereof, the court may make any order which justice requires to protect the officer or agency from unnecessary annoyance, embarrassment or oppression. Some four years later, the Legislature added section 1045(e), the provision for mandatory protective orders at issue here. As introduced on March 30, 1981, Senate Bill No. 1065 (1981-1982 Reg. Sess.) contained language limiting use of disclosed records or information therefrom to the proceeding identified in the motion: (e) The court shall, in any case or proceeding permitting the disclosure or discovery of any peace officer records requested pursuant to Section 1043, order that the records disclosed or discovered may not be used for any purpose or in any proceeding other than those identified in the motion pursuant to Section 1043. The Assembly subsequently amended the bill to remove the limitation on use of disclosed material to the proceeding identified in the motion, replacing it with the language currently found in section 1045(e). (Assem. Amend, to Sen. Bill No. 1065 (1981-1982 Reg. Sess.) Aug. 2,1982.) [4] Petitioner urges that, having twice considered and rejected the very limitation for which the city attorney here advocates, the Legislature evidently did not intend that section 1045(e) be interpreted to require a trial court ordering disclosure of Pitchess information to order that such information be used only in the proceedings identified in the motion. We do not find the import of the cited legislative history altogether clear. Examining as a whole the purpose of the 1978 legislation, we find it was intended to respond to officer complaints that Pitchess discovery was being ordered for unfounded, anonymous, or very old citizen complaints. Peace officer personnel records also had not been specifically designated as privileged. (See Enrolled Bill Rep. on Sen. Bill No. 1436 (1977-1978 Reg. Sess.).) The legislation addressed these problems by establishing the requirement of a specific showing of good cause for disclosure and recognizing certain exclusions from disclosure. (See §§ 1043, subd. (b), 1045, subd. (b).) The addition of subdivision (d) to section 1045, authorizing protective orders [u]pon motion seasonably made and upon good cause showing the necessity thereof, may have been thought to provide adequate protection against abuses of Pitchess discovery. Such was not the case. The 1982 legislation responded to the concern that disclosure of information from peace officer personnel records would be used in litigation against officers and the agencies employing them. (See Enrolled Bill Rep. on Sen. Bill No. 1065 (1981-1982 Reg. Sess.).) Notably, the bill as introduced included severe restrictions on any disclosure, proposing to limit the discovery authorized in sections 1043 and 1045 specifically to cases involving resisting arrest, assault, or battery, where claims of officer violence might be expected to be relevant. (Sen. Bill No. 1065 (1981-1982 Reg. Sess.) as introduced Mar. 30, 1981, § 1.) Evidently deemed too narrow, this provision was later revised to limit discovery to any case in which a defendant might reasonably assert self-defense and excessive force. (Sen. Amend, to Sen. Bill No. 1065 (1981-1982 Reg. Sess.) June 14, 1981.) When, finally, the Legislature gave up attempting to enumerate specific types of cases in which Pitchess discovery could be ordered, it revised section 1045(e) to provide that use of any records disclosed be limited to a court proceeding pursuant to applicable law rather than prohibiting their use, as the amending legislation originally would have done, in any proceeding other than those identified in the motion pursuant to Section 1043 (Assem. Amend, to Sen. Bill No. 1065 (1981-1982 Reg. Sess.) Aug. 2, 1982), i.e, the section where the proposed narrow restrictions had been specified. The language modification, then, did not necessarily mean that disclosure was not limited to the case in which it was being sought; rather, we surmise it meant the Legislature was not defining substantively what kind of case that might be. The Court of Appeal in this case reasoned that because section 1045(e) is part of an overall statutory scheme that carefully balances peace officers' privacy interests in their personnel records against defendants' rights of access to information relevant to their defense, and because disclosure of information contained in such records is permitted only on a showing of materiality to a particular case, to interpret the statute as allowing a defendant to share such information with other defendants would defeat the purpose of the balancing process. That court also believed the phrase applicable law in section 1045(e) in fact referred to section 1043 and thus signified the Legislature's intent to restrict use of the disclosed information to the proceeding in which it was sought. We agree; like the Court of Appeal we read applicable law in this context as referring to the statutory Pitchess scheme. Contrary to petitioner's argument, we believe the phrase must mean more than mere compliance with the Evidence Code, as the admission of any evidence in a court proceeding must comply with that code. Thus, petitioner's construction tends to reduce the phrase to surplusage, in contravention of the canons of construction. ( Delaney v. Superior Court (1990) 50 Cal.3d 785, 798-799, 268 Cal.Rptr. 753, 789 P.2d 934.) As the Court of Appeal reasoned, its interpretation of section 1045(e) harmonizes the entire statutory scheme and retains its effectiveness by furthering the legitimate interests of both the defendant and the peace officer. (See People v. Pieters (1991) 52 Cal.3d 894, 899, 276 Cal.Rptr. 918, 802 P.2d 420.) In contrast, as that court found, petitioner's interpretation conflicts with the confidentiality of officer personnel records, as recognized in Penal Code section 832.7, and the procedural requirements for disclosure of such records set forth in Evidence Code sections 1043 and 1045, subdivisions (a) through (c). Petitioner contends further that a mandatory protective order limiting use of Pitchess material to the case in which it is sought would conflict with the ethical duties of his counsel, the San Diego County Public Defender. Petitioner's argument may be summarized as follows: The public defender's office is essentially a law firm in which each deputy derives his or her authority by delegation from the public defender, whose duties and powers are prescribed by statute. ( Mowrer v. Superior Court (1969) 3 Cal.App.3d 223, 230-231, 83 Cal.Rptr. 125.) Each member of the office has the ethical duty not to represent conflicting interests (see 59 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 27 (1976); Rules Prof. Conduct, rules 1-100(B), 3-310), and a confidence obtained by one member of the office is treated as held by all members. Thus, according to petitioner, an order directed at one public defender not to reveal Pitchess material is the equivalent of an order directing the public defender not to reveal such information to himself or herself. Not only would such an order be untenable, petitioner argues, but it undermines fair representation and encourages inefficiency and duplication of effort, in that members of the public defender's office must feign ignorance of Pitchess information personally known to them and instead file repeated Pitchess motions in subsequent cases, not using previously disclosed information in making showings of good cause for disclosure. We are unpersuaded. As the city attorney reasons, petitioner's argument fails to identify any impediment to the public defender's ability to represent him. Moreover, trial courts have broad discretion in ruling on motions to discover police personnel records and, in doing so, as we have discussed, they are implementing a careful balancing process between the directly conflicting, substantial interests of the officer and the defendant. ( People v. Samayoa (1997) 15 Cal.4th 795, 827, 64 Cal. Rptr.2d 400, 938 P.2d 2; People v. Jackson (1996) 13 Cal.4th 1164, 1220, 56 Cal. Rptr.2d 49, 920 P.2d 1254.) Arguably, this specific statutory judicial obligation supersedes a public defender's office's general rules concerning distribution of authority to deputies or attribution to all deputies of knowledge gained by any one of them.