HR 199 IH

To amend rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to provide for the confidentiality of a personnel record or personal information of a law enforcement officer.

January 3, 2001

Mr. SWEENEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To amend rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to provide for the confidentiality of a personnel record or personal information of a law enforcement officer.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Law Enforcement Officers Privacy Protection Act'.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (28 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting after subdivision (b)(5) the following:

`(6) LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL RECORDS-

`(A) A party may obtain discovery of law enforcement personnel records otherwise discoverable under subdivision (b)(1) of this rule only upon a showing by the party seeking discovery that there exists a reasonable basis, supported by facts, for contending that the records sought are necessary and material to an issue involved in the pending action.

`(B) The court may, in the court's discretion and after in camera review of such records, order discovery of such records when the required showing has been made, subject to a protective order.

`(C) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(1) of this rule, a party may not obtain discovery of any matter by reason of its relevance with respect to, or its use in leading to the discovery of admissible evidence as to, the existence of the reasonable basis referred to in subdivision (b)(6)(A) of this rule.

`(D) For purposes of this subdivision (b)(6), the term `law enforcement personnel records' means documents in the custody of any public or private entity (including an individual law enforcement officer) carrying out a law enforcement function, or any element of the Federal Government, a State, or a unit of local government by whose authority that entity carries out that function, to the extent they contain any of the following information:

`(i) Information collected or maintained for the purpose of evaluating the performance of a law enforcement officer with respect to that officer's continued employment or promotion.

`(ii) Information collected or maintained for the purpose of evaluating a candidate for hire as a law enforcement officer.

`(iii) Information of a personal nature concerning a law enforcement officer or a member of that officer's immediate family.

`(E) For purposes of this subdivision (b)(6), the term `law enforcement officer' means an individual involved in crime and juvenile delinquency control or reduction, or enforcement of the laws, including, but not limited to, police, corrections, probation, parole, and judicial officers.'.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.

The amendment made by this Act shall apply to any civil action filed after the date of the enactment of this Act.

END