Attacking Officer Credibility: Pitchess Motions and Accessing Officer Personnel Records

Any relevant evidence we discover against the specific  officer in your case can be used to your advantage in court. In cases where officer credibility is a major issue – where the officer has lied in a police report or used excessive force against a client – it is important to delve into the background of that individual officer to discover whether there have been any past complaints or reports made against him for the same pattern of conduct. If so, this information can be very useful as we try to undermine officer credibility either at trial or get your case dismissed in advance of trial. When we bring a motion to try to uncover this information, it is called a Pitchess motion. The basis for this motion is the rule that the defense is entitled to any information that may be helpful in your defense. If the officer who did something wrong in your case has a pattern of past misconduct, that is information which can bolster your defense and information to which we are entitled.

At the Law Office of Jennifer Zide, we don’t take the officer’s word for it; we listen to what you tell us about what actually occurred. We do what it takes to get officer records and defend your rights. Based on our motion and attached declaration which describes either what actually occurred in the case of misrepresentation or the excessive force used against you by the officer in question, the Court will conduct a review of the officer’s personnel records. If this review reveals materials, reports, complaints or allegations which are helpful to the defense, we will make sure that they are turned over. In addition to Pitchess motions, we bring suppression motions to protect your rights in cases of illegal search and seizure, coerced statements and violations of your Miranda rights. We also thoroughly analyze and investigate each and every case to put you in the best defense position possible.

If you have any question about the officer’s misrepresentation in your case or his excessive use of force against you in a case where you are charged with resisting arrest, call us today to talk about what we can do to help. We go the extra mile to give you the best defense possible.

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By Criminal Defense Attorney Jennifer Zide

www.Zidelaw.com

ph: (805) 477-0327/ 477-8024