Vol. 33 No. 33 RECORDS OF OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, USES OF FORCE RESULTING IN GREAT BODILY INJURY OR DEATH, AND SUSTAINED INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DISHONESTY ARE SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE UNDER THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT
Governor Brown recently signed into law Senate Bill 1421 (“SB 1421”) which changed the confidential status of certain records contained in peace officer personnel files. SB 1421 effects a significant change with respect to the disclosure of certain categories of peace officer personnel files by way of the California Public Records Act. Beginning January 1, […]
Vol. 33 No. 32 DISTRICT COURT ORDER IN IMMIGRATION CASE GRANTS CITY’S APPLICATION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION WHERE ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS TO IMPOSE IMMIGRATION CONDITIONS ON FEDERAL GRANTS FOR CITY
On September 13, 2018 in the case of City of Los Angeles v. Jefferson B. Sessions, 293 F. Supp. 3d 1087 (C.D. Cal. 2018), the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted the application by the City of Los Angeles (“City”) for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the imposition of new […]
Vol. 33 No. 31 CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT DENIES REVIEW OF COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON POBRA STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
As reported to you in an earlier Client Alert (Vol. 33 No. 23; July 27, 2018) the First District Court Appeal had held in Daugherty v. City and County of San Francisco, 24 Cal. App. 5th 928 (1st Dist. 2018) that disciplinary charges were timely where a senior officer aware of officer misconduct was not […]
Vol. 33 No. 30 A REVIEW OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SAFETY ACT AND RECENT CASE DEVELOPMENTS
The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (“LEOSA”) is a federal law that was enacted in 2004 which is set forth in 18 U.S.C. Sections 926B and 926C. Generally, LEOSA provides that active and retired law enforcement officers who meet certain criteria may carry a concealed firearm, with certain restrictions. Since its enactment, LEOSA has subsequently […]
Vol. 33 No. 35 DUE TO THE PASSAGE OF PROPOSITION 57, ALL NONVIOLENT STATE PRISONERS, INCLUDING “THIRD STRIKE” OFFENDERS, ARE ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE CONSIDERATION
On September 7, 2018 in In re Edwards, 26 Cal. App. 5th 1181 (2018), the California Second District Court of Appeal granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by a state prison inmate serving an indeterminate life sentence pursuant to the “Three Strikes” law. In so doing, the Court held that the passage […]
Vol. 33 No. 36 PETITIONER ENTITLED TO RETURN OF SEIZED MARIJUANA PROPERTY UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW
On August 16, 2018 in the case of Smith v. Superior Court of San Francisco, 2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 931 (San Francisco County Superior Court – Appellate Division, Aug. 16, 2018), the Appellate Division of the San Francisco County Superior Court granted the petition for writ of mandate seeking return of a lawful amount of […]
Vol. 34 No. 5 EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCE OF INMATE DISTURBANCES AND LOCKDOWNS JUSTIFIED JAIL OFFICIALS’ DENYING PRETRIAL DETAINEE PLAINTIFF A BED AS OFFICIALS WERE PRIORITIZING SECURITY NEEDS
On January 11, 2019 in the case of Olivier v. Baca, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 1019 (9th Cir. Jan. 11, 2019), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the exigent circumstance of inmate disturbances and lockdowns justified denying a plaintiff a bed for his three-and-a-half day stay at the inmate processing center. Background In […]
Vol. 34 No. 4 SEARCH INCIDENT TO ARREST MAY OCCUR PRIOR TO ARREST IF PROBABLE CAUSE EXISTS, EVEN WHERE THE CRIME FOR WHICH PROBABLE CAUSE EXISTED IS DIFFERENT FROM CRIME OF SUBSEQUENT ARREST
On January 9, 2019, in the case of United States v. Johnson, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 640 (9th Cir. Jan. 9, 2019), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a search incident to a lawful arrest, that occurred before the arrest itself, was permissible if probable cause existed. The Court further noted that the […]
Vol. 34 No. 3 BUREAU OF PRISONS STATUTE PROHIBITING THE MAILING OF THREATENING LETTERS WHILE IMPRISONED IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONALLY VAGUE AND IS SUFFICIENTLY NARROW TO ENCOMPASS UNTRUTHFUL THREATS
On December 20, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided two related cases involving a Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) regulation governing threats made by prison inmates. BOP Prohibited Acts Code 203 (“Code 203”) prohibits prisoners from “[t]hreatening another with bodily harm or any other offense.” (28 C.F.R. section 541.3.) The BOP accused Mark Alan […]
Vol. 34 No. 2 SUPREME COURT REVERSES THE NINTH CIRCUIT, AGAIN, ON THE ISSUE OF QUALIFIED IMMUNITY
In a stunning, yet not surprising decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on January 7, 2019 on the issue of qualified immunity involving a use of force encounter in the case entitled City of Escondido, et al. v. Marty Emmons. The Emmons case involved an incident that […]