Richardson v. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. CA2/4

Filed 11/22/24 Richardson v. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

ANTHONY RICHARDSON, B333555

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 22STCP03868) v.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Gail Killefer, Judge. Affirmed. Victor Leung, Adrienna Wong, Jonathan Markovitz and Tiffany M. Bailey for Plaintiff and Appellant. Hurrell Cantrall, Thomas C. Hurrell and Melinda L. Cantrall for Defendant and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Respondent Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) listed appellant Anthony Richardson (Richardson) as a suspected gang member in a database shared by other law enforcement agencies. Richardson filed a petition to have his name removed, which the trial court granted. Richardson then moved for an award of attorney’s fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. The trial court denied that motion. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND CalGang is a database of information on suspected gang members, shared among law enforcement agencies across the state of California. If a citizen is listed in CalGang, they may receive negative notations on housing and employment background checks, among other adverse consequences. For non-citizens, inclusion in CalGang may be a basis of deportation. To ensure the accuracy of the database, and to protect anyone who should not be listed there, the legislature enacted Penal Code sections 186.34-186.36. Those statutes require law enforcement to notify any person they include in CalGang, and to give that person a chance to contest their inclusion. (Pen. Code, § 186.34.) The statutes also provide that if the law enforcement agency denies that challenge, the person may appeal by way of a petition in court. (Pen. Code, § 186.35.) That is what happened here. In June 2022, LASD notified Richardson that his name had been entered into CalGang. Richardson responded with a letter contesting the designation. In July 2022, LASD denied Richardson’s challenge. In October 2022, Richardson petitioned the court for an order removing him from the database.