You too should submit a discovery request to the District Attorney to learn what notes the officer took with the case. The Discovery Request should go to the DA, not the ticketing agency. It is the DA's responsibility to provide discovery as per the Penal Code:
1054.1. The prosecuting attorney shall disclose to the defendant or his or her attorney all of the following materials and information, if it is in the possession of the prosecuting attorney or if the prosecuting attorney knows it to be in the possession of the investigating agencies:
(a) The names and addresses of persons the prosecutor intends to call as witnesses at trial.
(b) Statements of all defendants.
(c) All relevant real evidence seized or obtained as a part of the investigation of the offenses charged.
(d) The existence of a felony conviction of any material witness whose credibility is likely to be critical to the outcome of the trial.
(e) Any exculpatory evidence.
(f) Relevant written or recorded statements of witnesses or reports of the statements of witnesses whom the prosecutor intends to call at the trial, including any reports or statements or experts made in conjunction with the case, including the results of physical or mental examinations, scientific test, experiments, or comparisons which the prosecutor intends to offer in evidence at the trial.
You may have read on other threads where some people think the word "if" in this statute means the prosecutor doesn't have to provide discovery IF he doesn't personally know about it. However, in
People v. Superior Court (Barrett) (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th 1305, 96 Cal.Rptr.2d 264, the appellate court stated:
A prosecutor has a duty to search for and disclose
exculpatory evidence if the evidence is possessed by a person or
agency that has been used by the prosecutor or the investigating
agency to assist the prosecution or the investigating agency in
its work. The important determinant is whether the person or
agency has been "acting on the government's behalf"
Also, in
People ex rel. Kottmeier v. Municipal Court(1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 602 , 269 Cal.Rptr. 542, one finding concerning traffic tickets was:
We note that it has been stated that the provisions of Government Code section 26500 requiring the presence of the prosecutor "are for the benefit of the people." (People v. Thompson (1940) 41 Cal.App.2d Supp. 965, 967 [108 P.2d 105].) This suggests that there is discretion not to appear, if the district attorney is willing to take the consequences of an adverse verdict or ruling
Therefore, the DA's office is the appropriate place to file your discovery request, the DA is obligated to search for and provide the discovery even if he doesn't know it exists, and if the DA chooses not to attend the trial, you can make a motion to dismiss (if he doesn't provide the discovery) and no one will be able to object to that motion.
You can get forms for filling out your discovery request at
www.helpigotaticket.com. I am not affiliated with that site, I just recognize it as a good source of information.
I hope there is enough statutory law and case law here to make my point. I'm sure there will be plenty of dissenters that will tell me I am wrong and "that's not how its done in practice". You can make your own decisions, but opinions are based on law... not "the way I saw it done before".
