Several state law enforcement agencies would like to inform prosecutors if officers have misconduct on their records, so prosecutors can seek and give to defendants any potential exculpatory evidence, as required by SCOTUS' 'Brady v. Maryland.' But does that violate California's 'Pitchess' laws, saying personnel files can only be opened in response to court orders?

Attorneys who brought and who argued the case before the state high court Wednesday - Geoffrey Sheldon (Liebert Cassidy Whitmore), Judy Posner (Benedon & Serlin) and Elizabeth Gibbons (The Gibbons Firm) - offer competing views.