Last August, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation making California the first in the nation to prohibit a criminal grand jury to weigh in on cases involving officer-involved shootings or in cases where excessive force used by an officer results in the death of a suspect.

Effective January 1, 2016, SB 227 (Penal Code § 917 (b)) prohibits a grand jury from inquiring into an offense or misconduct involving an officer shooting or use of excessive force by a peace officer that led to the death of a person being detained or arrested by the peace officer, unless the offense was declared to the grand jury by one of its members. State Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) authored SB 227 in response to high-profile cases in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City, which led to the death of two civilians. In both cases, the law enforcement officers involved were not indicted by grand juries.

Under the criminal grand jury indictment process, evidence is presented in secrecy to a panel of civilians who decide whether the officer should be charged. If an indictment is returned, the case can head directly to trial. Grand jury decisions in Ferguson and New York raised mistrust over the evidence being presented to the grand juries by prosecutors following officer-involved deaths. Senator Mitchell introduced the legislation to make these judicial proceedings more transparent and accountable.

As always, if you have questions on legislation or regulatory issues, please contact Randy Pollack at (916) 468-0621 randy@whitebrennerllp.com, Elisabeth L. White at (916) 468-0950 elisabeth@whitebrennerllp.com, or Celia Mata at (916) 468-0623 celia@whitebrennerllp.com.