L.A. Police Protective League v. City of L.A.

Opinion of the Court by Groban, J.

California requires law enforcement agencies to investigate complaints against peace officers. (See Pen. Code, § 832.5, subd. (a)(1).) Penal Code section 148.6, subdivision (a) (section 148.6(a))1 makes it a crime to file a knowingly false allegation of misconduct against a peace officer. (See § 148.6, subd. (a)(1) [section 148.6(a)(1) or subdivision (a)(1)].) The statute also mandates that before accepting a complaint, law enforcement agencies must require the complainant to read and sign an advisory informing the complainant that filing a knowingly false complaint of police misconduct is a crime. (§ 148.6, subd. (a)(2) [section 148.6(a)(2) or subdivision (a)(2)].) The issue presented in this case is whether section 148.6(a)’s provisions violate constitutional free speech rights. We conclude that they do. This is not the first time we have considered this issue. In People v. Stanistreet (2002) 29 Cal.4th 497 (Stanistreet), the defendants argued that section 148.6(a) violated the rule set forth in R. A. V. v. St. Paul (1992) 505 U.S. 377 (R. A. V.), which generally requires that courts apply heightened scrutiny to regulations that discriminate…