Obtaining Criminal Records in a Civil Action
Getting your hands on investigative reports and documents for civil cases that arise from criminal incidents can be nearly impossible without the use of a subpoena.
Even with a subpoena, some agencies require a court order to release certain evidence, such as coroner's photographs.
The downside to using a subpoena is the cost and time involved.
To avoid this, I have turned to the Public Records Act with various levels of success to obtain reports, photographs, and other records from the District Attorney's Office that handled the criminal action related to the civil case.
The California Public Records Act permits anyone to obtain, subject to certain exemptions, "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.
" [Gov.
C.
§6252(e)] Specific exceptions to disclosure are listed in Sections 6253.
2, 6253.
5, 6253.
6, 6254, 6254.
1 through 6254.
22, 6255, 6267, 6268, and 6276.
02 through 6276.
48.
To get criminal records, you can make a Public Records Act request to the District Attorney's office for a copy of their entire investigation file.
It is important to note that the District Attorney's office is not necessarily required to produce some of the documents.
Government Code § 6254(f) covers the pertinent exclusions for this request.
However, if the request is successful, you can get your hands on some great evidence at a reasonable cost and with limited time spent on the task.
An example of why it is important to obtain the District Attorney's investigation file occurred on a recent wrongful death case involving a DUI.
The District Attorney's office produced a copy of the full accident report, including the DUI narrative, transcripts of witness statements, toxicology report, a CD of the 911 calls, photographs not previously produced by the police department, and references to additional videotaped interviews.
The Public Records Act is a great tool for obtaining evidence, and should be used if at all possible in place of a Deposition Subpoena for the Production of Business Records.
It will save your client case costs and you the headache of processing a subpoena.
Even with a subpoena, some agencies require a court order to release certain evidence, such as coroner's photographs.
The downside to using a subpoena is the cost and time involved.
To avoid this, I have turned to the Public Records Act with various levels of success to obtain reports, photographs, and other records from the District Attorney's Office that handled the criminal action related to the civil case.
The California Public Records Act permits anyone to obtain, subject to certain exemptions, "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.
" [Gov.
C.
§6252(e)] Specific exceptions to disclosure are listed in Sections 6253.
2, 6253.
5, 6253.
6, 6254, 6254.
1 through 6254.
22, 6255, 6267, 6268, and 6276.
02 through 6276.
48.
To get criminal records, you can make a Public Records Act request to the District Attorney's office for a copy of their entire investigation file.
It is important to note that the District Attorney's office is not necessarily required to produce some of the documents.
Government Code § 6254(f) covers the pertinent exclusions for this request.
However, if the request is successful, you can get your hands on some great evidence at a reasonable cost and with limited time spent on the task.
An example of why it is important to obtain the District Attorney's investigation file occurred on a recent wrongful death case involving a DUI.
The District Attorney's office produced a copy of the full accident report, including the DUI narrative, transcripts of witness statements, toxicology report, a CD of the 911 calls, photographs not previously produced by the police department, and references to additional videotaped interviews.
The Public Records Act is a great tool for obtaining evidence, and should be used if at all possible in place of a Deposition Subpoena for the Production of Business Records.
It will save your client case costs and you the headache of processing a subpoena.
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