D.A. revises policies after complaints of withholding evidence

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey announced Tuesday that she has issued new policies on when to disclose information about police officer misconduct and other evidence to defense attorneys.

The move drew praise from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which, along with other civil rights lawyers, sued the county last year, accusing prosecutors of improperly withholding key evidence from defendants.

The new directives, issued last week, make it clear that prosecutors must disclose all evidence favorable to the defense and make it more likely that information about pending investigations of law enforcement officers will be turned over, ACLU officials said.

ACLU attorneys said they dropped their lawsuit earlier this year after Lacey’s office gave assurances that the policy would be revised. Lacey took office in December, replacing retired Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley. Cooley defended his approach last year and then described the lawsuit as an attempt to mislead the courts and public.

The issue goes to the heart of the legal duty that prosecutors have to ensure defendants receive a fair trial by disclosing information favorable to the defense.

Hector O. Villagra, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, described the new policies as a major improvement that more accurately explain the constitutional obligations that prosecutors have to disclose evidence to the defense.

“We’re very appreciative of Ms. Lacey and her leadership and commitment to the office’s obligation to ensure fair trials,” Villagra said.

The district attorney’s office released a statement that downplayed the significance of the changes. The statement said the new policies were clarifications designed to ensure that the practices already being followed by prosecutors were accurately reflected in the office’s training materials and policies.

“When in doubt, we want our prosecutors to disclose the evidence and litigate its admissibility in a court of law,” Lacey said in the statement.

The lawsuit filed by the ACLU and others alleged that the district attorney’s office violated the rights of defendants by preventing prosecutors from disclosing information about law enforcement misconduct and other evidence unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the information is true. That is a higher burden than the “preponderance of evidence” standard required for police departments to discipline or fire officers.

The suit also claimed that the district attorney’s office improperly withheld evidence that involved ongoing investigations into law enforcement officers and required prosecutors to turn over evidence only if they believed it would probably affect the outcome of the case.

The district attorney’s new directives explicitly say that California law requires prosecutors to turn over all evidence favorable to defendants and that information appearing to help a defendant should not be withheld simply because the prosecutor believes it might not affect the outcome of the case.

The new policies also tell prosecutors that it is not enough to rely on the office’s database that tracks law enforcement misconduct. And in contrast to the previous policies, information about pending investigations of police officers may now be included in the database and turned over to the defense.

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jack.leonard@latimes.com

Twitter: @jackfleonard