Section 68756 Of Article 3. Investigations And Hearings From California Government Code >> Title 8. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 3.
68756
. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
commission shall be given access, on an ex parte basis, to all
nonpublic records of court proceedings, including confidential sealed
records and transcripts, relevant to the performance of any judge,
former judge, or subordinate judicial officer (hereafter,
collectively, judicial officer) within the commission's jurisdiction
under Sections 18 and 18.1 of Article VI of the Constitution. The
commission shall make a written request to the court in which the
proceedings occurred. The court shall file the request under seal.
Access to the requested records shall be provided within 15 days of
the written request.
(b) (1) If the commission or the judicial officer who is the
subject of the commission's investigation or proceeding intends to
publicly disclose any nonpublic records or information obtained
pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission or judicial officer shall
petition the court that granted access to the records or another
court that has jurisdiction, for authorization to disclose. The
petition, filed under seal, shall identify the records or information
to be disclosed and the reason for disclosure. To the extent that it
does not unduly lessen the evidentiary value of the records or
otherwise defeat the purpose of disclosure, the petitioner shall
redact from the records names and other identifying information.
(2) The court shall grant the petition if it determines that there
is good cause for disclosure. The court may issue protective orders,
including further redaction of names or other identifying
information, to the extent that they do not unduly lessen the
evidentiary value of the records or otherwise defeat the purpose of
disclosure. Within 15 days after the filing of a petition, the court
may order the petitioner to give notice of the intended disclosure to
any person who may be adversely affected by the disclosure. Any
person who has been provided notice pursuant to this section may,
within 20 days of service of the notice, file an objection to the
intended disclosure with the court and serve the objection on the
petitioner.
(3) The court shall grant or deny the petition in whole or in
part, stating its reasons therefore, within 15 days of a timely
objection, or the expiration of time for filing an objection if no
objection is filed, or within 15 days of the filing of the petition
for which no notice is required.
(c) Access to, and disclosure of, records under this section shall
not be limited by any court order sealing those records.
(d) Persons entitled to file an objection to the intended
disclosure shall not include the judge, former judge, or subordinate
judicial officer who is the subject of the commission's investigation
or disciplinary proceedings, unless he or she was a party or parent,
guardian, or conservator of a party in the underlying action. A
request or petition filed under this section shall not be considered
or ruled on by a judicial officer who is the subject of the
commission's investigation or disciplinary proceedings related to the
requested information.