Officers could ask courts to remove names from credibility lists

An officer may petition a court to remove the officer’s name from a prosecutor’s list. The officer must file in the common pleas court for the county where the officer’s law enforcement agency is located. A prosecutor does not have to keep a list. The court must order removal if it finds, by a greater weight of the evidence, that the officer should not be listed. After an officer files a petition, the court must set a hearing date.

A prosecutor who keeps a list must give written notice to an officer when adding the officer’s name. This applies when a prosecutor places a law enforcement officer’s name on a list of officers whose supported misconduct could affect their credibility as witnesses. A prosecutor does not have to keep a list. The prosecutor must give notice when placing the officer’s name on the list.

Evidence presented in a private court hearing about whether an officer should be listed would not be a public record. This applies to evidence about whether a law enforcement officer should be placed on a prosecutor’s list when that evidence is presented in a private hearing.