County of Riverside v. Superior Court

Summary

The California Supreme Court considered whether a county must disclose to a probationary peace officer confidential documents from a background investigation conducted during his employment. The court held that the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act applied to the investigation file and superseded potentially applicable confidentiality privileges, but that the officer's express waiver of his right to review the materials was enforceable. The court reversed the Court of Appeal and directed issuance of a writ of mandate consistent with its opinion.

Holdings

1. A background-investigation file compiled during a peace officer's probationary employment is a personnel file or other file used for personnel purposes under Government Code section 3305 when its contents may affect the officer's employment status. The Act applies regardless of the label assigned to the file.
2. The Act applies to adverse comments arising from conduct occurring before the officer's employment and to documents prepared after termination when they summarize an investigation that was ongoing during employment and was intended to assess continued employment.
3. The specific provisions of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act giving an officer access to adverse comments take precedence over the more general deliberative-process, official-information, and informant privileges, at least as to the officer's right to view the documents.
4. A limited waiver of the Act by an existing peace officer is enforceable when it concerns an investigation of matters arising before employment, expires after one year, and is made knowingly and voluntarily.
5. Madrigal's waiver was enforceable because he was an existing peace officer applying for a new peace officer position and knew or should have known that the County's background-investigation file could be shared with future law enforcement employers while he could not review it himself.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act applies to a law enforcement agency's background-investigation file concerning a peace officer hired on a probationary basis.
2. Whether the Act applies when the background investigation concerns conduct occurring before the officer's employment and when documents are prepared after termination.
3. Whether statutory and common-law privileges, including official-information and informant privileges, preclude disclosure of adverse comments to the officer.
4. Whether an existing peace officer may validly waive the Act's protections as to a background investigation of preemployment conduct.
5. Whether Madrigal's express waiver was knowing and voluntary and therefore enforceable.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded