For 10 months, San Diego County Superior Court shirked a state law allowing photos of court records

For 10 months, San Diego Superior Court failed to comply with a state law aimed at making court records more accessible to the public.

Assembly Bill 1524, which went into effect in January, allows members of the public to take photos of court records instead of paying to have them copied by court personnel. The local Superior Court charges 50 cents per page for photocopies — meaning the savings can be considerable.

However, until this week, the court continued to prevent people from taking photos of court records. Signs on the walls of the downtown courthouse records room stated that people caught breaking the rule would be escorted out of the building.

But after questions from KPBS recently, the court said it would issue a revised policy that complies with AB 1524.

Court spokesperson Emily Cox said she expects the updated policy will take effect by the end of the week.

“At the time this bill became effective, the Court was focused on several other priorities, including the complete changeover of our criminal case management system, a project that was in the works for several years,” Cox said in an email.

David Loy, legal director for the First Amendment Coalition, said the law is supposed to benefit both the public and the courts.

“Excessive charges are a barrier to transparency,” Loy said. He added, “It may be a significant drain on court resources for clerks to have to make a copy of every single page in a court file, particularly if it's hundreds of pages.”

The issue came to light last week when a KPBS reporter requested to view records in several criminal cases. A court employee told the reporter that photographing the documents was not allowed. When asked about AB 1524, a supervisor said the law didn’t take effect until 2027.

The court has since acknowledged its mistake.

Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose, who helped author the legislation, took steps to address the issue when KPBS reached out to his office.

“Upon hearing of the incident with KPBS, my office contacted the statewide Judicial Council and they have assured us they are implementing the measure in good faith,” Kalra said in a written statement.

It’s unclear how much money San Diego County Superior Court collected this year from people who might have otherwise taken photos of court records instead of paying for photocopies.

Loy said there could be legal ramifications for the error.

“I think the court ought to be concerned about its exposure to some kind of lawsuit to recover compensation for members of the public who may have been charged unlawful fees,” he said.