For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 16
NAVIGATING CHRIA -
OBTAINING CRIMINAL
HISTORY RECORD
INFORMATION AND
LAW ENFORCEMENTRELATED
MATERIAL
IN DISCOVERY
Carolyn H. Kendall
L
aw enforcement agencies are repositories of
information about people and events and are
in a unique position to gather and maintain
information by using their power to obtain search
warrants and interview witnesses. This makes them
attractive targets for discovery requests both in civil and
criminal cases. Indeed, law enforcement agencies often
possess information that is impossible to obtain from
other sources. For example, a defendant in a criminal
case may seek discovery about the criminal history of
the government's star witness. When investigating
a possible selective enforcement claim challenging,
for example, a sting operation that appears to target
disproportionately racial minorities in impoverished
neighborhoods, criminal defense counsel will need
discovery on law enforcement investigations into
similar crimes that did not result in indictment. In a civil
case, a plaintiff who was injured in a car accident will
want access to toxicology reports generated after police
arrested the defendant driver.
Each of these requests implicates sensitive information,
and prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are
often reluctant or unwilling to provide it, claiming that
Pennsylvania's Criminal History Record Information Act
( " CHRIA " ) prohibits disclosure to litigants. Although
CHRIA does not operate as a total bar to discovery of all
criminal history record information or law enforcementrelated
information, it does prevent dissemination of
certain types of " protected material " to non-criminal
justice agencies, which can leave litigants with no
way to make their case. Practitioners seeking criminal
history information and law enforcement-related
material through discovery, whether civil or criminal,
must be familiar with CHRIA to effectively evaluate
and challenge attempts to refuse production based on
claimed-CHRIA protections.
16 For The Defense l Vol. 6, Issue 3
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3
Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 1
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 2
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 4
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 5
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 6
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 7
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 8
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 9
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 10
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 11
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 12
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 13
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 14
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 15
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 16
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 17
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 18
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 19
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 20
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 21
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 22
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 23
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 24
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 25
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 26
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 27
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 28
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 29
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 30
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 31
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 32
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 33
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 34
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 35
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 36
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 37
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 38
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 39
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 40
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 41
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 42
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue4_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue3_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue2_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue1_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue4_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue3_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue2_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue1_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue4_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue3_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue2_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue1_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue4_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue3_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue2_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue1_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue4_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue3_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue2_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue1_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue4_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue3_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue2_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue1_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue4_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue3_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue2_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue1_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue4_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue3_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue2_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue1_2016
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com