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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
silent witness; records; nondisclosure; exceptions
(NOW: silent witness; nondisclosure; records; exceptions)
Purpose
Prohibits the disclosure of any information that may be used to identify an individual who submits an anonymous tip, unless required by a constitutional, legal or ethical duty or on a motion that establishes good cause and prescribes requirements for legal proceedings and the retention of tip materials.
Background
A silent witness or crime stopper program: 1)
obtains information on wanted persons, felony crimes and other criminal
activity; 2) forwards the information to the appropriate law enforcement
agency; 3) expends program monies to provide rewards for reported information;
4) allows the person submitting a report to remain anonymous; and 5) operates
in conjunction with a certified law enforcement agency or county attorney's
office (A.R.S.
§ 12-2311).
The Wildlife Theft Prevention Fund (Fund) consists of donated monies, legislative appropriations, civil penalties for unlawfully taking, wounding, killing or possessing any wildlife and fines, forfeitures and penalties collected for game and fish violations. Fund monies must be used for: 1) reward payments to persons responsible for information leading to arrests for unlawfully taking, wounding or killing, possessing, transporting or selling wildlife and attendant acts of vandalism; 2) a statewide telephone reporting system, named Operation Game Thief; 3) the promotion of the public recognition and awareness of the Wildlife Theft Prevention Program; and 4) investigations of the unlawful taking, possession or use of wildlife and fraud related to licenses, permits, tags or stamps (A.R.S. § 17-315).
A record of communication between a person reporting criminal activity to a silent witness, crime stopper or operation game thief program (program) administered by a police or sheriff's department, a county attorney's office or the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the person who accepts the report on behalf of the program is not a public record (A.R.S. § 12-2312).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Prohibits a disclosure of information that might be used to identify an individual submitting a tip if the individual submitting the tip did so anonymously.
2. Deems all tips that do not include the full name of the individual to be anonymously submitted.
3. Excludes a prosecutor in a criminal case from the prohibition on disclosing identifying tip information if the disclosure is required by a constitutional, legal or ethical duty.
4. Requires a prosecutor in a criminal case to make reasonable efforts to ensure information that might be used to identify an individual who anonymously submitted a tip is not disclosed if the disclosure is not required by a constitutional, legal or ethical duty.
5. Prohibits, from being subject to compulsory production, any portion of any record maintained by a program or organization that might be used to identify an individual who submitted a tip anonymously, except on a motion filed in superior court that establishes good cause for disclosure.
6. Places the burden to show good cause for the disclosure on the party filing the motion.
7. Allows good cause to include:
a) a reason to believe that the tip was motivated by bias or animus; or
b) that disclosure is reasonably necessary to investigate a defense to the allegation or the potential sentence if convicted.
8. Directs the court, if a motion to disclose tip information is granted, to authorize the grant of a subpoena by the moving party to obtain the information.
9. Requires a program or organization to retain tip materials submitted in writing by individuals submitting a report of criminal activity until:
a) the date of expiration for all direct appeals in a criminal proceeding; or
b) the date the plaintiff's appeal rights are exhausted in a civil proceeding.
10. Asserts that the prescribed nondisclosure and retention requirements and exceptions do not expand the scope of discovery available under any Arizona court rules.
11. Makes technical and conforming changes.
12. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
PSLE 2/17/25 DPA/SE 11-2-1-1
3rd Read 3/10/25 54-2-4
Prepared by Senate Research
March 24, 2025
KJA/NRG/slp