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Name: Uybungco v. Superior Court
Case #: D051900
Opinion Date: 06/09/2008
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 1
Citation: 163 Cal.App.4th 1043
Summary

The trial court erred when it denied appellant’s Pitchess motion. Appellant sought a reversal of a trial court order denying his motion for discovery of the personnel files of four police officers who arrested him for vandalism and resisting arrest. The appellate court issued a writ of mandate instructing the superior court to vacate its ruling and to hold an in-camera review of the files. Appellant submitted a sworn declaration alleging that he did not resist police and that the police reports were false. His declaration was sufficient to compel the trial court to conduct an in camera review of each of the four officers’ personnel files for information that they had previously falsified. The trial court’s refusal to do so constituted an abuse of discretion.