Legal Guides
Plain-English answers to the questions people bring to this office: police misconduct, protest and press rights, California public records, government claims, and the rights of unhoused people. Each guide cites the statute or opinion it relies on and carries the date it was last reviewed.
Should You File a Complaint Against a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy If You Might Sue? What a Complaint Does and Why It Can Affect a Case
A complaint against a sheriff's deputy is a statement the Department writes down and keeps. What it does, why it can matter to a lawsuit, and where to file.
Should You File a Complaint Against an LAPD Officer If You Might Sue? What a Complaint Does and Why It Can Affect a Case
A complaint against an LAPD officer is a recorded statement the Department keeps. What it does, why it can matter to a lawsuit, and where to file.
What Is Qualified Immunity? How Courts Decide It in Section 1983 Cases
Qualified immunity in Section 1983 cases, quoted from the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit jury instructions, and the California Supreme Court.
What Is a Monell Claim? How a City or County Can Be Sued Under Section 1983
How a city or county can be sued under Section 1983: the Supreme Court's words in Monell and after, and the Ninth Circuit's model jury instructions.
What Does California's No Kings Act, Civil Code Section 53.8, Say?
The text of California's No Kings Act, Civil Code 53.8, with 42 U.S.C. 1983, Section 1 of SB 747, and the bill's enactment record.
What Do the Bane Act, the Ralph Act, and Section 1983 Each Add to a Police Misconduct Case?
How Section 1983 and California's Bane Act and Ralph Act differ in a police misconduct case: what each covers, who is liable, and the remedies.
Missed the Six-Month Government Claim Deadline in California? Late-Claim Applications and Court Relief
Missed California's six-month government claim deadline? How late-claim applications under Gov. Code 911.4 and court petitions under 946.6 work.
What Penal Code 409.7 Says About Journalists Covering Protests in California
The text and history of Penal Code 409.7, the 2021 California law that lets journalists enter closed protest areas and bars officers from interfering with them.
What Are the Deadlines to Sue Police in California? The Six-Month Claim and the Two-Year Federal Clock
California police misconduct cases run on two clocks: a six-month government claim for state claims and a two-year limit for Section 1983 claims.
How to File a Government Claim Against the City or County of Los Angeles After Police Misconduct
Before suing the City or County of Los Angeles over police conduct, California requires a written claim: the six-month deadline, contents, and where to file.
Is It Legal to Film the Police in California?
It is legal to film police performing their duties in public in California. What the First Amendment and Penal Code § 148(g) protect, and your options if you were arrested for recording.
How to Get Police Body Camera Footage in California: A CPRA Guide
Using the California Public Records Act, SB 1421, SB 16, and AB 748 to obtain police body camera footage and misconduct records — and what to do when agencies refuse.
Police Used Force Against You at a Protest in Los Angeles? What to Do Next
Steps to take after police used force against you or arrested you at a protest in LA: preserve evidence, understand the six-month government claim deadline, and know your § 1983 and Bane Act claims.