Untitled California Attorney General Opinion

Syllabus

QUESTIONS: 1. May a district attorney voluntarily provide to criminal defense counsel, or to a self-represented criminal defendant, an unredacted copy of a victim's or a witness's RAP sheet, with or without a protective order limiting distribution, during the criminal discovery process under Penal Code section 11105 as recently amended? 2. If redaction is required, what information must be redacted before production? CONCLUSIONS: 1. As a general proposition, a district attorney may provide a copy of an adult witness's or victim's RAP sheet to defense counsel during the criminal discovery process, provided that certain information is redacted. A district attorney may not voluntarily provide a copy of a victim's or witness's RAP sheet, unredacted or otherwise, to a self-represented defendant. 2. Any juvenile court information, and (in the case of a victim) any information that may be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family, must be redacted from the RAP sheet, unless the district attorney is required to disclose that information under Penal Code section 1054.1(a).