Martinez v. City of Pittsburg et al
Filing
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ORDER Re: the parties' discovery dispute concerning Plaintiff's rap sheet re: [29-1]. Signed by Judge Laurel Beeler on 12/22/2011. (lblc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/22/2011)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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Northern District of California
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Oakland Division
HILARIO MARTINEZ,
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For the Northern District of California
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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Plaintiff,
v.
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CITY OF PITTSBURG, et al.
No. C 11-01017 LB
ORDER RE: THE PARTIES’
DISCOVERY DISPUTE
CONCERNING PLAINTIFF’S RAP
SHEET
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Defendants.
_____________________________________/
Plaintiff Hilario Martinez filed this action against the City of Pittsburgh, its police department,
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and several of its police officers for violating 42 U.S.C. § 1983, malicious prosecution, and
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conspiracy. Complaint, ECF No. 1.1 The gist of the complaint is that Plaintiff was improperly
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arrested, charged, and prosecuted in violation of his constitutional rights. He went to trial and was
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acquitted. See People v. Martinez, Contra Costa County Case No. 162025-1 (the “Underlying
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Criminal Action”).
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On December 8, 2011, the parties filed a stipulated protective order, which this court
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subsequently approved. Stipulated Protective Order (“SPO”), ECF No. 29; 12/21/2011 Order, ECF
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No. 33.
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At the same time, Plaintiff also alerted this court to a discovery dispute. Plaintiff’s Letter, ECF
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No. 29-1. Apparently, Plaintiff requested from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office
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Citations are to the Electronic Case File (“ECF”) with pin cites to the electronic page
number at the top of the document, not the pages at the bottom.
C 11-01017 LB
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(the “DA’s Office”) a copy of the prosecution’s case file in the Underlying Criminal Action, and the
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DA’s Office has produced most of it. But as Plaintiff describes, he and the DA’s Office “have not
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reached an agreement as to whether or not [Plaintiff’s] RAP sheet[, which is included in the case
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file,] is required to be produced to the Plaintiff in the above-captioned matter.” Plaintiff’s Letter,
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ECF No. 29-1 at 1. The DA’s Office has so far refused to turn it over, because, it says, “California
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Penal Code §[§] 11142 and 13300 make it a misdemeanor to furnish such information to an
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unauthorized person.” DA Office’s Letter to the Court at 1. In lieu of briefing the issue, the parties
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“agreed to leave the issue up to [the court] for ultimate resolution,” Plaintiff’s Letter, ECF No. 29-1
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at 1, and the DA’s Office simply submitted Plaintiff’s rap sheet to the court for in camera
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The statutes cited by the DA’s Office do state that, in some circumstances, it is a misdemeanor to
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For the Northern District of California
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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inspection, DA Office’s Letter to the Court.
provide a certain criminal history information to unauthorized persons. See, e.g., Cal. Penal Code §
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11142 (“Any person authorized by law to receive a record or information obtained from a record
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who knowingly furnishes the record or information to a person who is not authorized by law to
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receive the record or information is guilty of a misdemeanor.”). But this is not the case in all
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circumstances. See, e.g., Cal. Penal Code § 13300(b)(1)-(17) (providing that a local agency shall
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furnish local summary criminal history information to numerous listed entities and individuals in
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certain circumstances). And the court observes that a person may have access to his own criminal
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history information. See Office of the Attorney General, “Criminal Records – Request Your Own,”
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http://www.ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php (last accessed Dec. 21, 2011). Without any briefing
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from the parties, the court cannot resolve the parties’ dispute at this time. Thus, to the extent they
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are unable to resolve this dispute on their own (now that a protective order is in place), they may
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file, no later than December 30, 2011, a joint letter that sets out each issue in a separate section that
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includes each parties’ position (with appropriate legal authority) and proposed compromise. The
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court then will review the letter and decide whether future proceedings are necessary.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: December 22, 2011
_______________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
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C 11-01017 LB
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