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Committee advances bill setting due‑process steps before prosecutors label officers Brady‑impeachable
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to recommend HB 82, which requires prosecutors to provide notice and allow response before formally treating a law enforcement officer as Brady/Giglio impeachable and restricts agencies from terminating an officer solely on that basis when conduct is not otherwise terminable.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Standing Committee on Monday voted to favorably recommend House Bill 82, a bill the sponsor said aims to add due‑process steps when prosecutors or agencies identify officers as Brady/Giglio impeachment risks. The committee approved the bill unanimously.
Representative Gwen, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB 82 grew from concerns that some officers were being labeled as impeachable without an opportunity to respond and that those determinations were sometimes used by agencies as a ground for termination even when the officer’s underlying conduct would not otherwise justify firing.
The bill requires a prosecutor who is considering placing an officer on an impeachment/Brady notification list to evaluate the facts, provide the officer with the evidence relied on, and allow the officer to respond. It also clarifies that only the prosecutor may determine whether an officer is Brady‑impeachable and bars agencies from terminating employment based solely on a Brady determination when the conduct does not otherwise constitute a terminable offense. Prosecutors retain their disclosure obligations to defendants, the sponsor and the executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors and Public Attorneys emphasized.
Representatives of criminal defense and justice reform groups testified in favor after participating in the interim working group that shaped the bill. Mark Moffat of the Defense Lawyers Association told the committee the bill fills a gap in due process for officers placed on lists without formal procedures. Liz Kelcher of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice said CCJJ voted to support the measure.
Senator Brammer moved the favorable recommendation. The committee recorded a unanimous vote to send HB 82 to the Senate floor.
Why it matters: The bill aims to balance defendants’ right to impeachment evidence with procedural protections for officers whose careers can be affected by listing. Supporters said the measure preserves prosecutors’ disclosure duties while adding notice and response steps for officers.
