Sometimes police overstep their authority and are dishonest in their work or use excessive force or coercion during an arrest or interrogation.
If you’ve been charged with a crime and believe that an officer who arrested you engaged in misconduct, proving the misconduct may be helpful to your defense. Police officer misconduct can include:
If you need help gathering evidence to support your misconduct claim, you can file a Pitchess Motion.
The Pitchess motion permits a defendant in a criminal case to request records about a police officer’s background and conduct on the job that may be relevant to the defendant’s defense.
Upon granting the motion, the judge will order the public agency responsible for the officer to turn over any information related to your defense about the officer:
Senate Bill 1421 took effect on January 1, 2019. It did four things:
SB 1421 was only the first step. Senate Bill 16 took effect on January 1, 2022. It added four more types of records that must be released. It also removed the old five-year limit on how far back a judge could look during a Pitchess review. These rules now sit in Penal Code sections 832.7 and 832.8.
This matters for your case. You do not need a Pitchess motion for records that are already public under Penal Code section 832.7. You can ask the agency for those in writing. You still need a Pitchess motion to reach the rest of an officer’s file.
The public can access eight types of personnel records under Penal Code section 832.7. SB 1421 opened the first four. SB 16 added the next four in 2022. These include:
The following are examples of dishonest acts that may be recorded as part of the fourth category:
SB 16 added these four types of records in 2022:
A “sustained finding” means the agency looked into the complaint and decided it was true.
SB 1421 allows the public to view “records” found in a police officer’s, or another law enforcement officer’s, personnel file.
The Senate Bill defines “records” as items and information such as:
Senate Bill 1421 stipulates that some information needs to be redacted or edited from authorized records before they can be inspected for the purpose of protecting the identity of certain parties and witnesses.
The following information is redacted:
A 2025 change to the law also tells a court to look at whether an officer is working undercover before it lets an agency black out a record for safety reasons.
Pitchess motions should be used for records that may reveal racial profiling or discrimination or that a confession was coerced.
Only when these files are accessible in an investigation can exculpatory evidence be uncovered that can be used to impeach or question the credibility of the police officer in question.
Depending on whether this officer has been investigated for misconduct or has been reprimanded, your attorney may be able to move to dismiss the charges, suppress evidence, or negotiate a plea to a lesser charge.
The following types of police misconduct can be the subject of a Pitchess motion:
Suppose a defendant is charged with resisting arrest or assaulting a police officer who shows no signs of bruises or injuries and contends they did not resist or defend themselves while being beaten.
The defense attorney could file Pitchess motions to show an officer’s propensity for violence.
Pretrial motions such as Pitchess may be brought before a preliminary hearing but are often brought afterward.
Included in the motion are:
A court’s decision to grant your motion depends on whether you can show “good cause.”
To accompany the motion, your lawyer should submit an affidavit that details the facts of the case in an effort to justify the release of the officer’s confidential records.
You must describe every aspect of the underlying incident and all facts that prove the officer committed an act of misconduct in the affidavit.
There must then be some connection between the misconduct and the defendant’s case in order for the misconduct to be material.
The attorney doesn’t need to have direct knowledge of prior complaints of misconduct by this officer; only that they have been informed and believe the officer has previously committed misconduct.
A judge will determine if there is any relevant information pertinent to the defendant’s case.
The defendant will only be provided with that information if this is the case.
The defense does not have the right to attend the in-camera review.
The following information may not be disclosed:
California removed the old five-year cutoff in 2022. A judge can now look at older complaints if they relate to your case.
If you are successful, the judge will release only the contact information of persons filing complaints of coerced confessions, excessive force, or racial profiling.
Your attorney can request more specific information from the file if you cannot contact these people or their recollection is flawed despite good faith efforts.
If the agency refuses to obey the judge’s order to turn over the records, the court can dismiss the charges against you.
If you are convicted at trial, and your motion is denied, you are allowed to appeal your conviction based on the wrongful denial of your motion.
The issue is sent back to the trial court judge to conduct an in-camera examination if the appellate court agrees.
By showing that the disclosure of the information would likely have affected your trial outcome, you might be able to seek a new trial if relevant information is discovered.
After the motion is granted, the file is presented to the judge for an in-camera inspection.
Pitchess motions must be submitted in writing and should include a statement explaining why you need the evidence and how it will benefit your defense. A knowledgeable criminal attorney can best help you prepare the motion with all of the required components and file it with the court to ensure you have the best defense possible.
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