Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training v. Superior CourtCommission on Peace Officer Standards and Training v. Superior Court
Lead Opinion
Opinion
This case presents the question whether the California Public Records Act (
I.
The Commission is an agency created within the California Department of Justice that is charged with establishing standards of physical, mental, and moral fitness for peace officers. (§ 13510, subd. (a).) It also “develop[s] and implement[s] programs to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement” and provides education and training for peace officers. (§ 13503, subd. (e); see also § 13500.) The Commission is responsible for allocating state funds to local governments and districts for the expense of training full-time peace officers. (§ 13523.)
Every law enforcement department that participates in Commission programs and receives funding from the Commission is
The Commission maintains the reported information pertaining to each peace officer in an electronic database. It also maintains training records for persons who have taken Commission-certified courses. The Commission currently maintains information from 626 participating departments, and has been accumulating this information since the 1970’s. The Commission employs these records to monitor compliance with its selection and training requirements, which apply to new appointments, promotions, and lateral transfers of employees. It also uses them to determine whether officers have met the training and experience requirements for its intermediate and advanced certificates. The Commission does not release these records to the public.
A reporter employed by the Los Angeles Times requested that the Commission release information in its database pertaining to all new appointments dating from 1991 through 2001. The information requested was the officer’s name and birth date, employing department, appointment dates, termination dates, and reason for termination. The Commission denied the request, and Los Angeles Times Communications LLC (the Times) filed a petition for writ of mandate in the superior court, seeking release of the information under the California Public Records Act. (The Act;
The Act exempts from disclosure any “[rjecords, the disclosure of which is exempted or prohibited pursuant to federal or state law, including, but not limited to, provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege.” (
In support of its claim that the records at issue were obtained from peace officer personnel records, the Commission submitted a declaration from Paul Harman, the chief of its Information Services Bureau. Based upon his prior experience with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and “on information and belief,” Harman declared that the information provided to the Commission by law enforcement agencies came from peace officer personnel records.
At a hearing conducted by the trial court, the Times withdrew its request for officers’ birth dates, explaining that it sought that information only for the purpose of distinguishing officers with the same name. The Times explained that it was interested in documenting trends in the movement of police officers from one department to another, and that, for example, the Los Angeles Police Department was understaffed because it had a high rate of attrition due to many officers leaving employment at that department in order to work at other law enforcement agencies. The Times also was interested in whether and why officers might be hired by one agency after leaving a number of other agencies involuntarily.
The superior court entered a judgment ordering the Commission to release each officer’s name, along with the appointing agency, date of new appointment, and termination date.
The Court of Appeal rejected the Times’s threshold argument that the Commission had failed to prove the requested information was obtained from personnel records maintained by the employing agency, despite the Times’s observation that the only evidence offered by the Commission on that subject was the declaration of its records manager, Harman, whose testimony was based in part upon information and belief. The Court of Appeal, noting that the Times did not suggest any other logical explanation for the origin of the information, concluded that “as a matter of common sense,” the information sought by the Times—names, employment and termination dates, and employment status—necessarily was obtained from personnel records.
The Court of Appeal also rejected the Times’s argument that, because the names of peace officers, their employing agencies, and their dates of employment are not listed in section 832.8 as components of a peace officer’s personnel record, they are not made confidential by section 832.7. Based upon its reading of the “plain language” of the statute, the Court of Appeal interpreted the phrase “any file . . . containing records relating to” the enumerated
II.
In adopting the California Public Records Act, the Legislature declared that “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.” (
The Legislature, in adopting the Act, also was “mindful of the right of individuals to privacy.” (
A.
Peace officer personnel records are defined as “any file maintained under that individual’s name by his or her employing agency and containing records relating to” any of a list of enumerated types of information. (§ 832.8.) Although the Commission is not the “employing agency” of the peace officers whose information it maintains, its records nonetheless would be confidential under section 832.7 if they were “obtained from” personnel records maintained by the employing agency. (§ 832.7.)
Peace officers’ names, employing agencies, and employment dates are not among the items specifically enumerated in section 832.8 as components of a peace officer’s personnel record. The Times contends that the term “personnel records” includes only records of the types of information enumerated in section 832.8—personal information; medical history; election of employee benefits; employee advancement, appraisal, or discipline records; complaints, or investigations of complaints; and other information the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. The Commission, on the other hand, focuses on the circumstance that section 832.8 defines the term “ ‘personnel records’ ” to include “any file . . . containing records relating to” the enumerated types of information. Relying upon this language, the Commission contends that the Court of Appeal was correct in concluding that any information maintained in a file that also contains any of the information enumerated in section 832.8 becomes a confidential personnel record.
“ ‘ “It is a settled principle of statutory interpretation that language of a statute should not be given a literal meaning if doing so would result in absurd consequences which the Legislature did not intend.” ’ ” (Younger v. Superior Court (1978)
Applying these principles, we conclude that the Court of Appeal’s construction of section 832.8, although consistent with the statute’s language, is unreasonable because it would lead to arbitrary and anomalous results. Under the Court of Appeal’s interpretation, the circumstance that a document was placed into a file that also contained the type of personal or private information listed in the statute would render the document confidential, regardless of whether the document at issue was of a personal or private nature, and regardless of whether it was related to personnel matters. For example, as counsel for the Commission conceded at oral argument, a newspaper article praising or criticizing the particular act of an officer could be deemed confidential if placed into such a file. Also, the same type of information could be rendered confidential in one law enforcement agency if maintained in a file that also contained personal information, but would not be confidential in another agency if maintained in a different type of file. Furthermore, if records are stored in a computer in electronic form, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine which records are contained in the same virtual “file.”
We consider it unlikely the Legislature intended to render documents confidential based on their location, rather than their content. We commented on a similar question of statutory interpretation in Williams v. Superior Court (1993)
Cases that have addressed the question whether a particular document is included within the term “personnel files” for purposes of other statutes have found the content of the document at issue, not the
In Miller v. Chico Unified School Dist. (1979)
Courts have reached a similar conclusion in interpreting the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (
Nor is there anything in the legislative history of sections 832.7 and 832.8 to suggest that the Legislature intended to render
Pitchess held that a defendant seeking evidence to support his claim of self-defense in a criminal prosecution for battery committed upon deputy sheriffs had established good cause for the discovery of records of citizen complaints that had been made against those deputies and involved the excessive use of force. (Pitchess, supra, 11 Cal.3d at pp. 537-538.) After this court rendered its decision, concerns were expressed to the Legislature that, in response to Pitchess, law enforcement departments were destroying personnel records in order to prevent discovery; in some instances, criminal charges had been dismissed because the records to which the defendant would have been entitled no longer were available. (See Sen. Com. on Judiciary, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 1436 (1977-1978 Reg. Sess.) as introduced, p. 7; Sen. Com. on Judiciary, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 1436 (1977-1978 Reg. Sess.) as amended Apr. 3, 1978; Assem. Com. on Crim. Justice, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 1436 (1977-1978 Reg. Sess.) as amended Aug. 7, 1978.) As a result of these concerns, Senate Bill No. 1436 was enacted, requiring that records relating to citizen complaints be maintained for a period of five years. (Stats. 1978, ch. 630, § 4, p. 2083, amending § 832.5, subd. (b).) The statute also established procedures, consistent with Pitchess, permitting discovery of peace officer personnel records in civil or criminal cases only after an in camera review of the records by a judge and a determination that the information sought is relevant to the pending litigation. (Stats. 1978, ch. 630, §§ 1 & 3, pp. 2082-2083, adding
It is apparent that the Legislature’s major focus in adopting the statutory scheme here at issue was the type of record at issue in Pitchess—records of citizen complaints against police officers. The new legislation required that those records be maintained, but provided assurances to peace officers that such records would remain confidential except as necessary in order to ensure a fair trial in civil or criminal proceedings. Nonetheless, the legislation was drafted to include all police officer personnel records, not only records of complaints and disciplinary actions. Moreover, the specific categories of information listed in section 832.8’s definition of personnel records were themselves broadly drafted. The statute protects “[pjersonal data,” including not only the items specifically listed but also other “similar information.” (§ 832.8, subd. (a).) It also protects “[a]ny other information the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” (§ 832.8, subd. (f).)
The categories of information listed in section 832.8 certainly are sufficiently broad to serve the purposes of the legislation and to protect the legitimate privacy interests of peace officers. To extend the statute’s protection to information not included within any of the enumerated categories merely because that information is contained in a file that also includes the type of confidential information specified in the statute would serve no legitimate purpose and would lead to arbitrary results.
B.
In light of the foregoing, the information sought by the Times is not protected from disclosure by section 832.7 unless the request encompasses one of the types of information enumerated in section 832.8. The Commission contends that peace officers’ names, employing agencies, and hiring and termination dates do constitute personnel records because they constitute “employment history ... or similar information.” (§ 832.8, subd. (a).) The Times argues that “employment history” refers only to information about the individual’s previous employment, that the information obtained by the Commission from the employing department relates to the officer’s then current status with that department, and accordingly that this information is neither “employment history” nor “similar information.” For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that the Times is correct.
The language of section 832.8, subdivision (a), viewed in isolation, is ambiguous and susceptible to either interpretation. Accordingly, in construing the phrase “employment history,” we keep in mind that “the meaning of the enactment may not be determined from a single word or sentence; the words must be construed in context. . . .” (Title Ins. & Trust Co. v. County of Riverside (1989)
Subdivision (a) of section 832.8 refers to “Personal data, including marital status, family members, educational and employment history, home addresses, or similar information.” Each of the items listed, including “employment history,” is presented as an example of “personal data.” The items enumerated in subdivision (a) do not constitute information that arises out of an officer’s employment. Rather, they are the types of personal information that commonly are supplied by an employee to his or her employer, either during the application process or upon employment.
Information relating to the officer’s current position, on the other hand, is addressed in other subdivisions of section 832.8: “(c) Election of employee benefits. [][] (d) Employee advancement, appraisal, or discipline, [f] (e) Complaints, or investigations of complaints, concerning an event or transaction in which he or she participated, or which he or she perceived,
Taking into account the personal nature of the information listed in section 832.8, subdivision (a) in contrast to the job-related nature of the information listed in subdivisions (c) through (e), we agree with the conclusion reached by the Court of Appeal in City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (2003)
We find no indication that the Legislature, in adopting sections 832.7 and 832.8, was concerned with making confidential the identities of peace officers or the basic fact of their employment. Rather, the legislative concern appears to have been with linking a named officer to the private or sensitive information listed in section 832.8. The latter statute applies to files “maintained under that individual’s name by his or her employing agency and containing records relating to” the enumerated types of information. (§ 832.8.) Thus, the statute prevents the unauthorized disclosure of the specified types of information concerning a named officer. Conversely, a law enforcement agency “may disseminate data regarding the number, type, or disposition of complaints” against its officers “if that information is in a form which does not identify the individuals involved.” (§ 832.7, subd. (c).) Under the statute, a personnel record is, by definition, linked to a particular individual. (§ 832.8.) It seems unlikely that the Legislature contemplated that the identification of an individual as a peace officer, unconnected to any of the information it defined as part of a personnel record, would be rendered confidential by section 832.8.
A name might be viewed as “personal data” in the broadest sense of that phrase, because it relates to a person. “Personal” generally is defined to mean “of or relating to a particular person.” (Webster’s 3d New Internal. Dict. (2002) p. 1686; American Heritage Dict. (4th ed. 2000) p. 1311.) The word “personal,” however, also carries a connotation of “private,” meaning “peculiar or proper to private concerns,” “not public or general” (Webster’s 3d New Internal. Dict., supra, at p. 1686), or “[c]onceming a particular person and his or her private business, interests, or activities; intimate” (American Heritage Dict., supra, at p. 1311). The information specifically listed in section 832.8, subdivision (a), is the type of information that is not generally known to persons with whom officers interact in the course of performing their official duties; it is the type of information that, for reasons of officer safety, should not be revealed to perpetrators or witnesses of crimes. On the other hand, an officer’s name and employing agency is information that ordinarily is made available, even to a person who is arrested by the officer, in
Without a more specific indication in the statute, we hesitate to conclude that the Legislature intended to classify the identity of a public official whose activities are a matter of serious public concern as “personal data.” The names of all public employees are viewed as public information under both state and federal law. The Attorney General has long held the position that “the name of every public officer and employee ... is a matter of public record.” (State Employees’ Retirement Act, 25 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 90, 91 (1955) [concluding that state-paid retirement benefits are a matter of public record]; see also County Payroll Records as Public Records,
The public’s legitimate interest in the identity and activities of peace officers is even greater than its interest in those of the average public servant. “Law enforcement officers carry upon their shoulders the cloak of authority to enforce the laws of the state. In order to maintain trust in its police department, the public must be kept fully informed of the activities of its peace officers.” (New York Times Co. v. Superior Court (1997)
There is some tension between the public’s interest in peace officers’ activities (as recognized in these authorities) and the level of protection afforded to peace officer “personnel records” in section 832.7, but we may assume that in defining personnel records the Legislature drew the line carefully, with due concern for the competing interests. Had the Legislature intended to prevent the disclosure of officers’ identities as such, an obvious solution would have been to list “name” as an item of “[personal data” under subdivision (a) of section 832.8. (See, e.g.,
Our decision in Copley Press, Inc. v. Superior Court, supra,
Unlike Copley Press, Inc. v. Superior Court, supra,
III.
Finally, the Commission contends that even if the information sought by the Times was not obtained from police personnel records as defined in section 832.8, the records at issue are nevertheless exempt from disclosure under the Act. The Act exempts from disclosure “[pjersonnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” (
We assume for purposes of analysis that the records at issue may be characterized as “[pjersonnel ... or similar files.” (
The public’s interest in the qualifications and conduct of peace officers is substantial, a circumstance that both diminishes and counterbalances any expectation officers may have that their names and employment as peace officers will be confidential. Peace officers “hold one of the most powerful positions in our society; our dependence on them is high and the potential
The public has a legitimate interest not only in the conduct of individual officers, but also in how the Commission and local law enforcement agencies conduct the public’s business. As noted above, the Commission maintains the records at issue in order to monitor participating agencies’ compliance with Commission regulations, a matter of interest to the members of the public served by those agencies. Furthermore, the Times has articulated a particular interest in why and how often peace officers leave one agency in order to serve in another, whether particular agencies are better able to retain more experienced officers, and whether officers who are dismissed from one or more agencies nonetheless are hired by another. The information contained in the Commission’s records would enable the Times to trace officers’ movements from one agency to another and to identify both general trends and specific instances of potentially inappropriate employment practices, and to conduct followup research.
The Commission has not established that the typical peace officer has more than an insubstantial privacy interest in the fact of his or her employment as an officer. “A particular class of information is private when well-established social norms recognize the need to maximize individual control over its dissemination and use to prevent unjustified embarrassment or indignity.” (Hill v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. (1994)
We find no well-established social norm that recognizes a need to protect the identity of all peace officers. Peace officers operate in the public realm on a daily basis, and identify themselves to the members of the public with whom they deal. Indeed, uniformed peace officers are required to wear a badge or nameplate with the officer’s name or identification number. (§ 830.10.) In support of its contention that peace officers have a privacy interest in maintaining the confidentiality of their names and employing departments, the Commission relies upon the Legislature’s enactment of statutes that render peace officer personnel records confidential. (§§ 832.7 & 832.8.) But because we have concluded that those statutes do not protect an officer’s name, employing department, and dates of employment, they do not support the argument that peace officers have a recognized privacy interest in such innocuous information.
The Commission asserts that in light of the “dangerous and demanding work” performed by peace officers, releasing such information to the public creates a “potential for mischief.” We readily acknowledge that throughout the state there are some officers working in agencies who, because of their particular responsibilities, require anonymity in order to perform their duties effectively or to protect their own safety. (See People v. Kunkin (1973)
The safety of peace officers and their families is most certainly a legitimate concern, but the Commission’s contention that peace officers in general would be threatened by the release of the information in question is purely speculative. “A mere assertion of possible endangerment” is insufficient to justify nondisclosure. (CBS, Inc. v. Block, supra,
In the trial court, the Commission argued that persons who were hostile toward law enforcement officers generally (though not toward a particular individual officer) might use the list of names to locate peace officers’ addresses through other means (such as Internet resources) and harass them. It offered no evidence that such a scenario is more than speculative, or even that it is feasible.
For these reasons, we conclude that the privacy and safety interests of peace officers in general do not outweigh the public’s interest in the disclosure of the information sought by the Times. The Commission’s records, however, may contain some information that should be exempted
IV.
For the reasons stated above, the judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal is reversed, and the case is remanded to that court with directions to remand to the superior court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Werdegar, J., Moreno, J., and Corrigan, J., concurred.
Notes
All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.
The superior court did not require the Commission to disclose birth dates of the officers or the reasons for their terminations. The Times does not challenge that aspect of the trial court’s judgment.
“ ‘Public records’ ” include “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency.” (
Peace officers must supply this type of personal information during the application process. The Commission requires that every candidate for employment as a peace officer complete a “personal history questionnaire,” which includes, among other matters, personal identifying information, contact information for family members, and educational, residential, and “employment history.” (Peace Officer Standards & Training Admin. Manual, Com. Proc. C-1, p. C-1; see also Peace Officer Standards & Training form 2-251 (02/06) [Personal History Statement—Peace Officer].)
We do not suggest that the mere fact that officers’ names are available from other sources necessarily means that the information cannot be considered personal or private. (See Department of Defense v. FLRA (1994)
Courts in other jurisdictions also have concluded that the names of public employees (including, in some instances, peace officers) are not exempt from disclosure under state public records laws. (See, e.g., Freedom Newspapers, Inc. v. Tollefson (Colo.Ct.App. 1998)
Indeed, the majority of courts have concluded that the public’s interest in the activities of peace officers at every level is such that, for purposes of defamation law, peace officers are public officials who must establish actual malice in order to prevail on a defamation claim. (See Gomes v. Fried (1982)
In light of our conclusions, we need not and do not address the parties’ contentions regarding the sufficiency of the declaration of Paul Harman to establish that the information at issue was obtained from peace officer personnel files.
Unlike section 832.8, the Act does not contain a definition of personnel files.
These particular interests would not be served if, as suggested by the dissenting justice in the Court of Appeal, the Commission were to provide the information sought by the Times but redact the officers’ names and substitute a “nonidentifying tracking designation.” Access to the officers’ names would permit the Times to conduct followup inquiries regarding specific examples of any trends identified by the Times and to examine their causes and effects.
Our decision in Hill, supra,
The Commission cites Stone v. F.B.I. (D.D.C. 1990)
The Legislature already has taken steps to protect peace officers from persons who might do them harm by requiring that at the request of an officer, his or her home address as listed in Department of Motor Vehicles records be kept confidential (
The Washington Court of Appeals used similar reasoning in holding that the provisions of its state’s public records law require the release of the names and ranks of a county’s peace officers. (Sheehan, supra, 57 P.3d at pp. 315-319.) “Names ... are released on a regular basis as a necessary incident of everyday life. Police officers release their names when they put on their uniforms, pin on their badges and name tags, and appear in public each day. The County routinely releases police officers’ names on a per-incident basis.” (Id. at p. 318.)
Concurrence Opinion
The majority holds that a public agency charged with improving and maintaining the professional qualifications of California’s peace officers must disclose for the years 1991 through 2001 the names, employing agencies, hiring dates, and firing dates of all peace officers in the state. I agree with the majority that the statutes in question require the release of the requested peace officer names. But I do not agree that the relevant statutes permit disclosure of each peace officer’s employing agency or agencies and the dates of each officer’s hiring and termination by that agency or agencies, because in my view that information is “employment history,” which the Legislature has expressly made confidential under Penal Code sections 832.7 and 832.8.
I
The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is a state agency that is responsible for statewide training and certifying the qualifications of peace officers. It collects information maintained in a electronic database on virtually every peace and custodial officer in the state. This case arises from a request by the Los Angeles Times to POST for information from that database listing the names, employing agencies, and hiring and termination dates of all peace officers who served at any time from 1991 through 2001. POST refused to release the information, maintaining that peace officer personnel records are confidential under Penal Code sections 832.7 and 832.8. The trial court concluded otherwise, and ordered POST to provide the requested information to the newspaper. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the information sought was confidential, and not subject to disclosure, because it was obtained
The majority here properly rejects the notion that the information sought is confidential because it is the type of information that is normally contained in a personnel file. Then it considers whether a named officer’s employing agency, hiring dates and termination dates are employment history, and it concludes that they are not, based on its determination that the term employment history, “viewed in isolation, is ambiguous and susceptible” to interpretation. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 294.) Unlike the majority, I see no ambiguity in the statutory language, as I explain below.
II
In determining the meaning of a statute we look first to its language as “ ‘ “the most reliable indicator of legislative intent,” ’ ” giving the words used “ ' “their ordinary and usual meaning,” ’ ” and construing them in their statutory context. (Kibler v. Northern Inyo County Local Hospital Dist. (2006)
In addition to this general maxim of statutory construction, of relevance here is a provision of the California Constitution. In November 2004, the voters passed Proposition 59, an initiative measure reaffirming a principle long ago established by the California Public Records Act (
Penal Code section 832.7, subdivision (a), makes peace officer personnel records “confidential.” Its companion statute, Penal Code section 832.8, describes a peace officer’s personnel record as “any file maintained under that individual’s name” and containing certain enumerated types of information— personal data, medical history, election of employee benefits, employee advancement, appraisal or discipline, and complaints about professional performance. (
But subdivisions (b) through (e) of Penal Code
I would instead look to the plain language of the statute and give the term “employment history” its commonly understood meaning: a listing of employers together with the starting and ending dates of employment for each employer. Under that definition the information sought by the Los Angeles Times is employment history and therefore confidential under
The Legislature has already decided that a peace officer’s employment history is confidential. Whether that is a good or bad policy choice is not a decision for this court to make. (Bonnell v. Medical Board (2003)
Dissenting Opinion
As a court, we have a “limited role” in interpreting statutes enacted by the Legislature. (California Teachers Assn. v. Governing Bd. of Rialto Unified School Dist. (1997)
In my view, the Legislature’s intent, as exhibited by the plain meaning of the relevant statutory language, was to include the information requested here from the Commission
I. The Requested Information is Confidential Under Sections 832.7 and 832.8.
As the majority explains, the issue here is whether the Commission’s records of officers’ names, employing departments, and dates of employment are “ ‘[pjeace officer . . . personnel records . . . , or information obtained from these records’ ” under section 832.7, subdivision (a). (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 289.) If they are, then they are “confidential” and they may “not be disclosed in any criminal or civil proceeding except by discovery pursuant to” specified provisions of the Evidence Code. (
Under well-settled principles, to answer this question of statutory construction, we must “first look at the actual words of the statute, ‘giving them a plain and commonsense meaning.’ [Citation.] ‘If there is no ambiguity in the language of the statute, “then the Legislature is presumed to have meant what it said, and the plain meaning of the language governs.” [Citation.] “Where the statute is clear, courts will not ‘interpret away clear language in favor of an ambiguity that does not exist.’ ” ’ [Citation.]” (People v. Tindall (2000)
Under the plain and commonsense meaning of the relevant statutory language, the records at issue here qualify as “personnel records” within the meaning of
In my view, the majority has not met its burden, as set forth above, to justify its refusal to apply
The majority also argues that the word “personal” may “carr[y] a connotation of ‘private,’ ” i.e., “ ‘proper to private concerns,’ ” concerning someone’s “ ‘private business, interests, or activities; intimate.’ ” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 296.) Of course, had the Legislature intended to limit the scope of
For a number of reasons, I also disagree with the majority that, given the Attorney General’s “long held” view that “ ‘the name of every public officer and employee ... is a matter of public record,’ ” we should disregard the statutory language’s ordinary meaning and require “a more specific indication” that officers’ names are protected “ ‘personal data’ ” under
I also disagree with the majority’s view that in passing
Regarding officers’ employing departments and dates of employment, I find equally unconvincing the majority’s justifications for ignoring the ordinary meaning of the term “employment history” (
Moreover, the majority’s construction of the phrase “employment history” is problematic when that phrase is viewed, as it should be, “in the context of the statute as a whole.” (People v. Canty (2004)
The majority’s construction is also problematic in its application. The majority states that
Ultimately, there is little to support the majority’s construction other than the
Even were I to agree with the majority’s view of public policy—a matter on which I express no opinion—I do not believe that view would justify the majority’s construction. The Legislature has clearly and expressly articulated a different view of public policy in the very statutes at issue here. As noted above, among the records the Legislature has expressly made confidential are those relating to an officer’s “advancement, appraisal, or discipline” (
Indeed, the public itself, through an amendment to the state Constitution, has also expressed a policy view different from the majority’s. As the majority explains (maj. opn., ante, at p. 288), when the voters added a constitutional provision declaring a “right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business” and making “the writings of public officials and agencies . . . open to public scrutiny” (
II. Government Code
As the majority explains (maj. opn., ante, at p. 299), in resisting disclosure, the Commission also relies on Government Code
In my view, the majority’s analysis of the public interest in disclosure is inconsistent with the view of that interest the Legislature and the voters have expressed. Like its analysis of Penal Code
I also question several other aspects of the majority’s analysis. In light of its holding that
I also question the majority’s view that disclosure of all officers’ names is necessary to serve the public’s interest in tracing officers’ movements and identifying general trends and specific instances of potentially inappropriate employment practices. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 300, fn. 10.) To serve this asserted interest, it is unnecessary to disclose the identity of all officers in the Commission’s records, most of whom no doubt have rarely or never transferred from one department to another. Instead, this asserted interest can be fully satisfied by using a two-step process in which the requested information is first disclosed with nonidentifying tracking designations substituted for the officers’ names, followed by disclosure of the names of the relatively few officers whose movements may merit further inquiry. This approach would be entirely consistent with the CPRA, which requires “deletion” of any exempt material that is “reasonably segregable” from nonexempt material. (
I next question the majority’s reliance on the fact that officers’ names may be otherwise accessible to the public in various ways. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 301.) In construing exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act (
Finally, I am also not convinced of the majority’s view that release of the requested information poses no threat to the safety of officers and their families. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 302-303.) Notably, in 1990, the Legislature amended subdivision (a) of
Ultimately, the majority concedes that in light of “the privacy and safety interests of’ some officers, the requested records “may contain some information that should be exempted from disclosure.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 303.) The majority assigns to the Commission the responsibility for making the showing necessary to establish that information concerning “particular officers” should not be disclosed. (Id. at p. 303.) In my view, the Commission, which is not the officers’ employing department but is merely an agency that collects information from numerous employing departments, is poorly suited to identify and assert the privacy and safety interests of the individual officers identified in its records.
III. Conclusion.
“[A]side from constitutional policy, the Legislature, and not the courts, is vested with the responsibility to declare the public policy of the state. [Citations.]” (Green v. Ralee Engineering Co. (1998)
Baxter, J., concurred.
All further unlabeled statutory references are to the Penal Code.
Nor, contrary to the majority’s assertion, is an officer’s educational and employment history “the type of information that, for reasons of officer safety, should not be revealed to perpetrators or witnesses of crimes.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 296.)
Because the CPRA only requires disclosure of “[plublic records” (
The majority’s reliance on decisions from “other jurisdictions” (maj. opn., ante, at p. 297, fn. 6) is equally unconvincing. None of the cited cases involved provisions similar to
I note that an officer’s name meets these criteria. It is not clear, then, why the majority concludes that
Notably, the majority cites nothing in the legislative history that supports its construction.
For this reason, the majority’s assertion that there is only “some tension” between its view of public policy and the Legislature’s (maj. opn., ante, at p. 298) is a significant understatement.
Because the majority declines to decide whether the Commission adequately established that the information in its possession came from files maintained under the officers’ names by their employing agencies (maj. opn., ante, at p. 299, fn. 8), I also decline to address that issue. (See
The statutes the majority cites (maj. opn., ante, at pp. 302-303, fn. 13) do little to support its view that the possibility of harassment from disclosure of an officer’s identity is “speculative” and that such harassment may not even be “feasible.” (Id. at p. 302.) Three of the cited statutes only limit address disclosures done with malicious intent (absent an officer’s “written demand” for nondisclosure). (