Opinion No. (1998)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE MICHAEL D. BRADBURY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COUNTY OF VENTURA, has requested an opinion on the following question: Prior to the filing of a criminal complaint, may law enforcement agencies destroy interview notes containing witness statements that have been transferred to a formal report? CONCLUSION Prior to the filing of a criminal compliant, law enforcement agencies may destroy interview notes containing witness statements that have been transferred to a formal report. ANALYSIS The question presented for resolution concerns recent changes in California's criminal discovery statutes (Pen. Code, §§ 1054 - 1054.7 ) 1 and case law holding that interview notes of witness statements are subject to discovery (Thompson v. Superior Court (1997) 53 Cal.App.4th 480 ). Prior to the filing of a criminal complaint, may law enforcement agencies destroy their notes of witness statements that have been transferred to formal reports? We conclude that the new discovery statutes do not prohibit the destruction of interview notes in the circumstances presented. Comprehensive criminal discovery reforms…