Opinion No. (2002)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE PETER F. KNOLL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COUNTY OF SISKIYOU, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a district attorney make copies of documents maintained in a juvenile case file without first obtaining a court order authorizing the copying of the documents? CONCLUSION A district attorney may not make copies of documents maintained in a juvenile case file without first obtaining a court order authorizing the copying of the documents. ANALYSIS The question presented for analysis concerns whether a district attorney not only has the authority to "inspect" a juvenile case file but also to make copies of the documents that are being inspected. Does the word "inspected" contained in Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 , subdivision (a)(1) 1 include the authority to copy? We conclude that it does not. Section 827 provides: "(a) (1) . . . a case file may be inspected only by the following: "(A) Court personnel. "(B) The district attorney, a city attorney, or city prosecutor authorized to prosecute criminal or juvenile cases under state law. "(C) The minor who is the subject of the…