Court Limits Penal Code § 502: Sharing Public Court Records Not a Crime, Appeals Court Rules

By Robert Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret).

Penal Code § 502(c)(2); Illegally Accessing and Using Confidential Computer Data: 

Rule:  Penal Code § 502(c)(2) does not make criminal a person’s use of confidential personnel computerized files when the same information is also available via non-confidential sources, such as public court records.   

Facts: Diana Maria Teran, petitioner in this post-preliminary examination motion to dismiss pursuant to Pen. Code § 995, had been an employee of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) from 2015 to 2018, working as a “constitutional policing advisor.”  In this capacity, she was tasked with providing advice about the “best practices” for running LASD in a manner “consistent with . . . constitutionally supported polic[e] activities.” She also assisted with efforts to ensure compliance with LASD’s discovery obligations pursuant to Brady v. Maryland (1963) 373 U.S. 83, which requires law enforcement to take the initiative in providing criminal defendants with any potentially material exculpatory information. 

In order to execute her responsibilities in this regard, Teran reviewed and tracked complaints, investigations, and discipline involving deputies employed by LASD, accessing this information in several ways. For instance, Teran had ....