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Mastagni Holstedt is pleased to congratulate Lou Paulson on his recent appointment to the Board of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).  Mr. Paulson has spent decades advocating for firefighters and first responders throughout California. As a former Fire Captain and President of Contra Costa County Firefighters Local 1230 he worked tirelessly to advance labor rights. Vince Wells, president of the United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County, Local 1230, as well as, 4th District…
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On this episode of On the Job with PORAC Brian Marvel, Damon Kurtz, Randy Perry (Aaron Read & Associates), and David E. Mastagni (Mastagni Holstedt, A Professional Corporation) dive into the future of use-of-force legislation, compared to last year’s AB931. As we’ve heard in previous podcasts, this type of legislation will have considerable impacts on law enforcement officers; therefore, it is critical that we have a seat at the table in getting it right. This…
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California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has declined to release pre-2019 police records requested pursuant to SB 1421 until the court adjudicate whether the new law applies retroactively. “We have a couple of cases where courts are about to weigh in on how to interpret that state law, and we want to make sure that we remain consistent,” Becerra told KQED in an interview. Mark Beckington, California’s supervising deputy attorney general, is quoted in the ABA Journal stating,…
On January 3, 2019, the California Department of Justice, Division of Law Enforcement issued Information Bulletin 2019-DLE-01(“Bulletin”) instructing all California law enforcement agencies to preserve all records that may be subject to disclosure as a result of Senate Bill 1421. The Bulletin provides a specific list of applicable files that should be preserved, including but not limited to electronic communications regarding the potential destruction of covered information. It should be noted that information bulletins are…
In City of Escondido v. Emmons, the Supreme Court examined if qualified immunity applied when two police officers forcibly apprehended a man at the scene of a reported domestic violence incident. In April of 2013, Escondido police received a 911 call concerning a possible domestic disturbance at Maggie Emmons’ apartment. Officer Houchin and Officer Robert Craig responded to the call. The entire event was captured on Body Worn Cameras (“BWC”). Upon arriving at the scene,…
Starting January 1st 2019, Section 3558.8 of the California Government Code goes into effect.   This much needed law ensures that public employees are able to take a leave of absence in order to represent their union without losing their job or benefits during time performing union duties. Often referred to as “loss time,” this leave allows employees the ability to perform union duties without loss of pay or other employment benefits. Under the new law,…
On December 21, 2018, our office filed an extraordinary writ of mandamus seeking to stay enforcement of Senate Bill 1421 on behalf of Crime Victims United of California and the Sacramento Police Officers Association.  By classifying peace officer personnel records and investigative files as not confidential notwithstanding Penal Code section 832.7(a) and Government Code section 6254 (f) “or any other law,” SB 1421 infringes on the privacy rights granted crime victims in the California Constitution.  Our writ…
The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Cal Fire, the first of a series of pension cases before the court on December 5, 2018.  The Daily Journal’s Brian Cardile interviewed Mastagni Holstedt partner David E. Mastagni on December 6th regarding the California Rule and whether “air time” is a vested right.  David filed an amicus brief in support of Cal Fire and represents the Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Association in another pension case before the California Supreme…
The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in Cal Fire Local 2881, et al. v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System,  one of the three major cases in the California Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (“PEPRA”).  The Court has not yet scheduled oral arguments in the other two cases, Marin Association of Public Employees v. MCERA (“Marin”) and Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association v. ACERA (“ACDSA”).  Cal Fire challenged…
In a recently published decision, an Appellate Court held that the criminal tolling period within POBRA does not end for any involved officer unless, and until, all officers are officially cleared of criminal jeopardy.  In other words, the entire criminal investigation must be concluded before POBRA’s tolling provisions expire. In Bacilio v. City of Los Angeles. et al., several officers were called to a domestic disturbance which led to the arrest of a husband.  Following…