Alt

In this writ of mandate proceeding, a police officer, Albert Gary Alt (Alt), seeks discovery of the personnel records of a fellow officer, Duane Morrison (Morrison). This matter arose after Morrison accused Alt of having engaged in insurance fraud. Citing Evidence Code section 1047 (prohibiting disclosure of records of peace officers not present during arrest or having no contact between arrest and booking), the trial court denied Alt’s request for discovery of Morrison’s records. (All further references to undesignated sections are to the Evidence Code unless otherwise indicated.)

We issued an alternative writ (order to show cause). We shall now issue a peremptory one. We conclude that section 1047 constitutes a specific exemption from the general discovery provisions of sections 1043 and 1045. Section 1047 applies if the request for discovery involves an issue concerning an arrest or a postarrest/prebooking incident or their functional equivalent; the section prohibits from discovery under sections 1043 and 1045, personnel records for peace officers who were not present during the arrest or who had no contact with the party seeking disclosure between the arrest and the…