In summary
California adopted criminal penalties for filing false claims against police officers 30 years ago. The state Supreme Court held that the LAPD went too far in advising people about those penalties when they file citizen complaints.
A warning that people see before filing complaints against Los Angeles police officers creates a barrier to free speech, the California Supreme Court ruled today in a long-running lawsuit over the language.
The high court ruled 6-1 in favor of the city of Los Angeles and against the union that represents its police officers in finding that the admonishment describing penalties for filing false has the potential to deter “citizens from filing truthful (or at least not knowingly false) complaints of police misconduct”.
The warning exhibits “numerous characteristics that, considered together, sufficiently burden a protected form of speech — namely, truthful (or at least well-intentioned) complaints of police misconduct — so as to warrant heightened constitutional scrutiny,” Associate Justice Joshua Groban wrote in the majority opinion.
The ruling turned on a 1995 law that sought to create consequences for false claims against police officers: Anyone filing a complaint against an officer could face criminal charges if they knowingly sign a false report.
At the LAPD, officials went further, demanding that complainants affirm, in bold font and all capital letters, that they understand the potential penalties.
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