CSLEA Profiles Member Sal Martinez's Legal Defense Fund Victory

Sal Martinez is an ABC agent.  He is a member of the California State Law Enforcement Association and participates in CSLEA's Legal Defense Fund.  On February 1, 2016, Martinez was the victim of an off-duty, possible hit and run vehicle accident.  Despite acting as most peace officers would under the circumstances, he was charged with violating PC 245(a)(2) and 417(a)(2) (brandishing).  After a grueling 18 months, he was acquitted and won his job back.  Now, CSLEA's Legal Defense Fund is profiling his story in an in-depth hour-long video presentation.  Mastagni Holstedt attorney Greg Thoming represented Martinez at trial.

 

DOJ Special Agents Sue to Stop Budget Cuts

The Association of Special Agents - Department of Justice filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Complaint to stop the state from laying off approximately 200 special agents.  The layoffs threaten to close over two thirds of BNE task forces.  According to the petition, the layoffs are an infringement of the Attorney General's constitutional and statutory authority to determine the DOJ's functions and allocate resources within the Department.  The complaint seeks injunctive and declaratory relief.  Mastagni Law attorneys David P. Mastagni, David E. Mastagni and Isaac S. Stevens represent ASA-DOJ in the action.

Court: POBR Guarantees Right to See Complaints, Not Just Summaries

 In Matthew Medina v. State of California, Kasey C. Clark, Chief Counsel for the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA), scored a major victory for peace officers statewide.  The Superior Court case establishes POBR gives officers access to actual complaints against them, not just summaries or abstracts.  Prior to the Court's decision, some law enforcement departments refused to provide officers with actual complaints, providing instead brisk summaries which sanitized complaints often littered with anti-officer rhetoric and personal biases.

In its ruling, the Court stated unambiguously "the right to read the adverse comment [in a personnel file] requires disclosure of the actual adverse comments [] not merely the general nature of the comments." The ruling affirms Sacramento Police Officers Association v. Venegas, the leading case in the Court of Appeal to address peace officers' right of access to their personnel files.  Importantly, the Medina decision joined Venegas in recognizing "some might view a shield of confidentiality as a license to make false allegations of police misconduct."