In re R.B. CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

J.B. was sentenced to death by an Arizona state court. He filed a petition for a

writ of habeas corpus in federal court. To support his petition, J.B.’s attorneys must

conduct an investigation into his social and family history. As part of that investigation,

J.B.’s attorneys sought records from his nephew’s juvenile dependency case, but the

juvenile court denied his request. J.B. appeals, and we vacate and remand.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

J.B. was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by an Arizona court in 2011.

After exhausting his state-court remedies in 2015, he filed a petition for a writ of habeas

corpus in Arizona federal court to reduce his sentence and avoid the death penalty. That

court then appointed the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of California to

represent him in the habeas proceedings.

J.B.’s attorneys filed in the juvenile court below a JV-570 “Petition for Access to

Juvenile Case File” under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 (section 827). The

petition sought “[a]ny Juvenile Court dependency records that may pertain to” J.B.’s

nephew, R.B., who is the son of J.B.’s deceased brother. J.B.’s…