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California Supreme Court strikes down warning on LAPD citizen complaint forms
The court ruled 6-1 that the LAPD warning deters truthful complaints and is biased, violating free speech protections under the First Amendment, the majority opinion states.
- The California Supreme Court today struck down the LAPD complaint warning as a barrier to free speech, ruling it deters citizens from filing truthful misconduct complaints.
- The challenge stems from a 1995 statute that created criminal penalties for knowingly filing false complaints and the Los Angeles Police Department complaint form requires an all-caps, bold affirmation reading `IT IS AGAINST THE LAW...`.
- The opinion noted the statute's ill-defined, asymmetrical design and Associate Justice Joshua Groban wrote the warning burdens truthful or well-intentioned complainants, triggering heightened scrutiny.
- The majority reversed a California appellate court and a 2002 California Supreme Court decision, emphasizing First Amendment protections; civil-rights counsel welcomed the ruling.
- The police union defended the warning as constitutional and necessary to prevent false complaints that could harm police officers' careers, while Associate Justice Goodwin Liu dissented, likening the law to statutes against perjury and false reports.
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Associated Press News+6 Reposted by 6 other sources
California Supreme Court strikes down warning on LAPD citizen complaint forms
A warning that people see before filing complaints against Los Angeles police officers creates a barrier to free speech, the California Supreme Court ruled in a long-running lawsuit over the language.
·United States
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The California Supreme Court ruled that a warning that appears before filing complaints against Los Angeles police officers constitutes a barrier to freedom of expression. The Supreme Court ruling, by 6-1, issued on Monday is in favor of the city of Los Angeles and against the union representing its police officers, considering that the warning describing sanctions for filing false complaints could deter citizens from filing truthful (or at leas…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources10
Leaning Left5Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Left
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources lean Left
56% Left
L 56%
C 44%
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