Pocket Guide to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act

By Cecil Marr and Diane Marchant
Updated by Dieter Dammeier and Richard Kreisler
12th edition, 2007

$16 each

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Our best-selling Pocket Guide! Known statewide as the definitive guide to the rights and obligations established by the act covering peace officer discipline, this edition includes recent case law covering exceptions to the statute of limitations, supervisor counseling versus interrogation, and the confidentiality of peace officer records.

The Pocket Guide offers a clear explanation of the protections relating to investigations, interrogations, self-incrimination, privacy, polygraph exams, searches, personnel files, administrative appeals, and more. The Guide also includes the text of act and summaries of all important cases, a table of cases, glossary, and index of terms.

This edition was revised by Dieter Dammeier and Richard M. Kreisler. Dammeier, a founding partner of Lackie & Dammeier, represents police unions and their members throughout California in labor and disciplinary matters. Kreisler provides representation and counsel to law enforcement managers throughout California and is a partner with the statewide management law firm of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore.

Contents

I.  Introduction                    1
History of the Bill of Rights Act  2
Analysis and Interpretation of the Act  4
A.   Covered Employees  4
B.   Procedures for Investigations of Peace Officers  5
   1.    Complaints from the public  5
   2.    The nature and scheduling of an interrogation under the Act  6
   3.    Representation at investigations and interrogations  9
   4.    Self-incrimination and the “Lybarger warning” 11
   5.    Documents to be provided  13
   6.    Tape recording of interrogation  14
   7.    Assignment of the accused officer during investigation  15
C.   Privacy  15
   1.    Polygraph examinations  15
   2.    Financial records  16
   3.    Media attention  16
   4.    Searches  17
   5.    Internet  19
D.   Personnel Files  19
   1.    Entries to personnel files  19
2.    Access to personnel files  21
   3.    Confidentiality of personnel records  21
      a.    Legislative history of personnel files statutes 21
      b.    Definition of a confidential personnel record 23
   4.    Discovery of confidential personnel records  26
      a.    Motion procedure 28
      b.    Relationship to the California Public Records Act 34
      c.    Remedies for improper disclosure 34
E. Disciplinary Proceedings  35
   1. Statutes of limitations  35
   2. Penalty considerations  37
   3. Evidence tampering  38
F.    Administrative Appeals  39
    1. Right to an “opportunity for administrative appeal”  39
   2. Nature of an administrative appeal  42
G. Remedies for Noncompliance  46
Conclusion  49
II.  Statutes                       50