Legislation Would Have Restored the Public's Right to Know about Police Conduct

In August, 2006 the California State Supreme Court decided Copley Press v. Superior Court.  The decision closed down records and hearings involving police conduct throughout the state to the public.  As a result of Copley Press, the public is now prevented by law from learning about serious police misconduct and discipline issues.

Secrecy around police misconduct reduces accountability, erodes public trust, and strains police-community relations.  Access to police records is necessary for citizens to feel they can trust the police department.

The California State Senate took a historic step in June 2007 towards upholding police accountability in our communities in its vote to pass SB 1019, a bill authored by Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero.

SB 1019 would have directly overturned the Copley Press decision and restored public access to police misconduct records.  It was supported by a range of individuals and organizations from the law enforcement, good government and civil rights communities.

On June 24, 2008 the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee voted on an amended version of the bill that would have only applied to law enforcement agencies under federal consent decree for previous misconduct.  The Assembly failed to pass the bill out of committee. Committee member Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) voted yes, while three members - Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana), Anthony Portantino (D-Pasadena), and Hector De La Torre (D-Los Angeles) - declined to vote.

Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), though not present, joined members Greg Aghazarian (R-Stockton) and Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) in voting against the bill.

While several committee members acknowledged the need for greater access to police misconduct records, none proposed new language that would have ensured passage of the bill. The ACLU is disappointed that SB 1019 was not signed into law, but is looking forward to pursuing this next year.