How can I get the 911 call from my domestic violence arrest?

Usually through your lawyer, in the criminal case itself. The prosecution has to disclose certain evidence that it has, or knows the investigating agency has, and a 911 recording can fall within those categories. If it is not produced, your lawyer can ask the court to enforce that duty. A California Public Records Act request generally will not get you the recording itself.

The ordinary route: discovery from the prosecution

In a California criminal case, the prosecutor must disclose listed materials to the defense if they are in the prosecutor’s possession or the prosecutor knows the investigating agencies have them (Penal Code section 1054.1). A 911 recording can fit several of those categories: relevant real evidence obtained in the investigation, statements of any defendant, exculpatory evidence, and recorded statements of witnesses the prosecutor intends to call at trial. Your attorney requests it as part of ordinary discovery rather than treating it as something to track down independently.

If requested material is not provided within 15 days of an informal request, your attorney can ask the court for an order, and the court can make any order necessary to enforce discovery (Penal Code section 1054.5(b)). The same statute makes the discovery chapter the only means by which a defendant can compel disclosure from the prosecutor and the law enforcement agencies that investigated or prepared the case (1054.5(a)). For a recording in their hands, discovery backed by a court order is the path.

A records subpoena for a recording held elsewhere

A subpoena is the tool for records held outside the prosecution and the investigating agencies, such as a dispatch center that is not part of the investigating agency. The defendant’s attorney of record can issue a subpoena, and a subpoena for business records in a criminal case must direct delivery under the procedure in Evidence Code section 1560(b) (Penal Code section 1326(a)(4), (b)). A government office qualifies as a “business” for that procedure, because the records-production statute borrows a definition that includes “every kind of business, governmental activity, profession, occupation, calling, or operation of institutions” (Evidence Code section 1560(a); Evidence Code section 1270).

In a criminal case, the custodian can comply by delivering sealed copies to the court within five days of receiving the subpoena, and the copies generally stay sealed until the judge directs that they be opened (1560(b) to (d)). The court may hold a private hearing to decide whether the defense is entitled to receive the records (1326(e)), so issuing a subpoena does not mean you will receive the recording. Whether a particular dispatch center counts as part of the investigating agency is a question to raise with your lawyer.

Why a Public Records Act request usually will not get you the recording

The California Public Records Act does not require a police agency to disclose records of complaints made to it or investigations it conducts, or investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes (Government Code section 7923.600, operative January 1, 2023). A 911 call to police is a complaint or request for help, so an agency can decline a request for the audio itself.

The Act does require agencies to make some information public. They must disclose the time, substance, and location of complaints or requests for assistance, and the time and nature of the response, unless disclosure would endanger someone’s safety or an investigation (Government Code section 7923.615). That is information about the call, not the recording. Detailed incident information, including statements of the parties and witnesses, must be disclosed to victims, their authorized representatives, insurers, and people who suffered injury or loss from certain incidents, not to someone because they were arrested (Government Code section 7923.605). Basic arrest and booking facts, such as the arrested person’s name and the time and date of arrest, are also public (Government Code section 7923.610), but they do not include the recording.

Ask early

For city and county agencies, state law sets a floor, not a deadline. A department, including a public safety communications center run by a city or county, may erase routine recordings of phone and radio traffic once they are 100 days old, but only with sign-off from its governing body and written consent from its attorney, and any recording that is evidence in a filed claim or in pending litigation has to be kept until that litigation ends. The city rule is in Government Code section 34090.6, and the county rule is in section 26202.6. Neither statute tells you when a particular recording will actually be deleted, and neither governs state agencies. As a practical matter, ask your attorney to request preservation and production of the recording early in the case.

Getting the recording is a different question from what it proves, including what it means if more than one caller described the incident differently.

Next steps

The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can request the 911 recording in your case through discovery, seek a court order or a subpoena if needed, and explain what the recording does and does not show once it is obtained. Call (800) 755-5174.