A&A: Police refuse to release report on shooting

Q: The police are refusing to release a report it is doing on a shooting. Many months have passed since the incident. They give no explanation for their actions. What would be the best way to proceed to get them to release the report? A: As you may know, under California’s Public Records Act, public [...]

A&A:Trouble obtaining arrest records and mugshots

Q: We are attempting to obtain arrest logs and mugshots or the booking photos associated with each arrest from local police jurisdictions for the purpose of crime statistical data gathering. We are asking for data on a consistent basis, i.e. daily email, weekly spreadsheets etc. Some jurisdictions have supplied the arrest logs but no photos. [...]

A&A: How can I get the police dept. to release a shooting report?

Q: The local police department is refusing to release a report on a shooting. Many months have passed since the incident. They give no explanation for their actions. What would be the best way to proceed to get them to release the report? A: As you may know, under California’s Public Records Act, public records [...]

A&A: Can I reqest public staff time cards?

Q: My community has a special water district. There is a manager and a five-person elected board. Would the manager’s time-card be public information? Also, the board has not approved the minutes for months. Is there a time limit to approve minutes from meetings? A: Under the California Public Records Act, public records, including “any [...]

A&A: Police refuse request for incident report from peaceful protest

Q: In August 2010 myself and three others were passing out Christian prolife materials to clients approaching a Planned Parenthood (PP) clinic. The PP is located in a public commercial strip mall and shares a common parking lot with the other businesses. A private security official threatened us with arrest if we did not move [...]

California court orders county to disclose data on employee retirement

A California appellate panel held that the California Public Records Act required the Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association to release the names and benefits of its members. The association argued that disclosing the information would subject its members to consumer fraud, but the panel rejected that argument. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat had sued for [...]

A&A: How to access Health & Safety building layout plans

Q: I need copies of site plans and store layout plans for evidence in a Planning Commission Appeal. I am aware of Health & Safety Code Section 19851 requiring permission from an architect. However, how does the Records Act affect 19851. Is my assumption that the City needs to disclose emails on specific subjects correct? [...]

A&A: State college employees using work email for political campaigning

Q: A member of the staff of a state college used his work email address for over two years to conduct a political campaign. County Counsel is both refusing to act on this matter, and claims there was no inappropriate use of a public email. He talks about door hangers, calling up talk shows, and [...]

A&A: Park & Rec “advisory committee” keeping its advice secret

Q: 1. Can the (recently appointed) president of a Park and Recreation board form a “Management Committee” without approval of the full Board when one of the (two) members of said Committee is a public member? 2. This “Committee” met with representatives of several public and possibly private (non-profit) organizations without publically reporting who they [...]

A&A: Police claims officer ‘use of force’ reports personnel not public issue

Q: We are a police monitoring and accountability organization. For awhile we have been concerned about police use of force; where it is occurring and under what circumstances, and which officers are involved. We have twice asked for this information from the Police Department. Once, for several years worth of reports, which were denied to [...]

A&A: Do I have a right to see complaint against me?

Q: I recently received a Notice of Violation from the Storm Water Dept, which I am challenging. Do I have the legal right to receive the original complaint (redacted or otherwise) from the citizen who made it? A: Under California’s Public Records Act, “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business [...]

A&A: Denied mother’s medical records after untimely death

Q: In March, my mother died in the hospital under suspicious circumstance. After her death there was a police investigation.The case was closed and I requested the police investigation report. My request was denied by the police on the grounds that I was not the victim. At the hospital, one person tells me I can [...]

A&A: Denied access to CHP report on a juvenile vehicular manslaughter

Q: A  California Highway Patrol (CHP) told me today that collision reports are not public. Is that right? I would like to look at a CHP report involving a juvenile driver who has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. I know that the 16-year-old driver’s name would not be public. But shouldn’t the rest of the [...]

A&A: Can arrest records published last year now be protected?

Q: A local police department publishes a daily media bulletin containing summary information of calls for service and arrestee information as required by the CPRA. If a request to obtain the information from that document is made a year after it was published, can the agency redact the arrest information? It would no longer be [...]

A&A: District won’t release legal bills from defending workers’ comp cases

Q: My client has a worker’s compensation case with the school district and made a public records act request in order to determine how much the school district is spending in her case and in total for legal defense of workers’ compensation matters. It is our belief that the attorney is not settling cases for [...]

A&A: Can an agency’s CPRA defense go beyond the exemptions in the initial denial?

Q: I was recently denied government records based on a single specific exemption to the California Public Records Act. I truly believe these records should be public so I filed a lawsuit myself to compel disclosure. After serving the lawsuit, the head of the agency informed me during a meeting that they may defend the [...]

A&A: Is the list of employees taking voluntary buyouts a public document?

Q: I am a reporter covering the public district hospital. I want to know if a list of 74 employees who accepted voluntary buyouts is a public document. I requested this list from the hospital’s PR person, and she said she would provide it only on condition that I promise not to publish the names. [...]

A&A: Are Public Employee Performance Goals Exempt from CPRA?

Q: I would like to know whether a public-university attorney’s performance goals are personnel information that is exempt from the PRA. The goals should not contain privileged information, but instead consist of general goals that the individual wants to accomplish that year. In one case, the individual’s supervisor required the individual (an older person) to [...]

A&A: Records request denied due to ongoing investigation

Q: I made a CPRA request for information regarding enforcement of a housing ordinance.  The response was that “the matter is under investigation.” How long can the CPRA be denied with the explanation that the matter is “under investigation” ? A: Under the Public Records Act, public records — which include “any writing containing information [...]

Can I see the city’s settlement agreement with police officers?

Q: The city has just reached a settlement agreement with several police officers who had filed claims–and then a lawsuit–alleging discrimination on the part of the police chief. There were also workers compensation claims tied to this lawsuit. The city just announced that as part of the agreement, the officers have withdrawn their civil suit. [...]