in a muder prosecution, the defense issued a subpoena duces tecum and served internal affairs requesting the production of standard operating procedures used in investigating murder crime scenes. Does the prosecution have to disclose such information? I have found one case A&T Consultants vs. John Sharp, Comptroller (904 Sw2d 668). Does anyone have any other information to prevent the prosecution from disclosing this delicate information? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Defense didn't need to subpoena you in order to get the document. That document is a "public record" open and available to any and all who ask for it under the Texas Public Information Act, Tex. Govt. Code chapter 552. You have to give it up as a matter of law just based upon a simple request. Any one can come in off the street and ask to look at your SOPs, be they murder SOP or traffic SOP or anything else, and you have to give them access to it.

They can even make copies and take them home with them if they want (though you can charge a fee -- a state limited fee of like 10 cents a page).

Well isnt the judge the gatekeeper of evidence? shouldnt they request leave of court instead of going around the judge and using the subpoena power. The A&T case seems to address the fact that yes we understand the we need to divulge public information to the general public, however how far can that go? In A&T the court stated that former section 552 of TORA (still the same) prevents the disclosure of investigatory records that would reveal law enforcement methods, techniques, and strategies.

I don't argee that SOPs are always public information, but I'm not with the AGs Office anymore and your issue at this point is not a PIR so the previous post is not really relevant; but see- Open Records Decision No. 531 (1989) -- detailed guidelines regarding a police department's use of force policy may be withheld, but not those portions of the procedures that restate generally known common law rules, constitutional limitations or penal code provisions; the release of the detailed guidelines would impair an officer's ability to arrest a suspect and would place individuals at an advantage in confrontations with police


Don't know of a better case to site, but a motion to quash should be your (or the city attorney's) next filing.

Good luck.

[This message was edited by Stacey L. Brownlee on 09-28-07 at .]