People v. Frazier CA5

DISCUSSION

The Trial Court Incorrectly Limited the Production of Brady Materials Appellant argues the trial court erred in limiting the production of Brady materials to “specific instances of false reporting or dishonesty” which are less than 5 years old. We agree that limiting production of Brady materials to the last five years was an error. The California Supreme Court has long made clear that the productions required under Brady and Pitchess are distinct, but operate in parallel when it comes to confidential personnel files. Material required to be disclosed under Brady is generally narrower than that what must be disclosed under Pitchess, as it is limited to exculpatory material, but is also broader because it is not bound by the statutory time limit on production set forth for Pitchess proceedings. (See City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (2002) 29 Cal.4th 1, 14 (City of Los Angeles); People v. Superior Court (Johnson) (2015) 61 Cal.4th 696, 720 (Johnson).) However, because personnel files are granted qualified statutory confidentiality, the trial court could rightly limit its search to material evidence for which appellant had established a basis to search. (City of Los…