Rulings open police, government files

SAN FRANCISCO -- The public has the right to inspect the hiring records of police agencies throughout California and to learn the names and salaries of government employees, the California Supreme Court decided Monday.

In two cases brought by newspapers, the state high court ruled against a state commission and unions for police and other government workers and declared that salary and hiring records should be open to the public.

"Openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy," wrote Chief Justice Ronald M. George, the author of both majority decisions.

The Los Angeles Times brought the police hiring case after one of its reporters tried to investigate a tip that problem officers were moving from department to department around the state.

The Commission on Peace Officer Standards, which collects information from law-enforcement departments, insisted the names and hiring dates of police were confidential, and a divided appeals' court ruled in favor of keeping the records secret.

In overturning that decision, the court said the public "clearly has a legitimate interest in the matters that The Times seeks to investigate."

The Contra Costa Times brought the salary case, seeking the names and pay of Oakland employees who earned $100,000 a year or more. Lower courts ruled for the media, but employee unions appealed the case to the state's highest court.

The pair of rulings has "completely laid to rest" confusion in the trial courts over the kinds of information the public may obtain about law enforcement, said Kelli L. Sager, who represented the Los Angeles Times. A previous high court ruling determined that records of police disciplinary appeals were not public.

"It's a really important set of decisions in terms of the public's ability to get public information about public employees," Sager said.

Karl Olson, who represented the Contra Costa Times, called the decisions "a very important victory for the public's right to know."

That both were written by the chief justice gave them "a little bit extra oomph," Olson said.