CA DOB REDACTION UPDATE – CA SUPREME COURT DENIES REVIEW
Dear PBSA Member,

On Wednesday, September 1, 2021 the California Supreme Court denied review in the matter of All of Us or None vs. Hamrick.

As previously announced, PBSA along with CDIA and dozens of other organizations submitted an amicus letter along with supplemental filings to the California Supreme Court on behalf of our members, plus an additional letter. In those filings we had asked the court to review the decision that an existing court rule prohibited clerks from searching for records that match a date of birth. (The same rule similarly prohibits use of driver’s license number or social security number.)

This denial means that we will continue to see courts in California redacting date of birth from both their online and public access terminals. It is also very possible that court clerks will stop providing clerk assistance to verify full dates of birth – as we have recently seen in Los Angeles County. Criminal-records checks in California will continue to become more difficult, and in some cases impossible.

While the review by the California Supreme Court was a longshot, it was the fastest path to resolution. With this decision, the PBSA Government Relations Date-of-Birth Redaction Task Force will now begin executing 2 potential alternative paths to resolution.

  1. Work with the California Judicial Council to modify the rule.  
  2. Create a legislative campaign to introduce statutory changes that requires the Judicial Council to modify the rule.

Unfortunately, neither of the above 2 paths are guaranteed and both have a very long path to resolution. If we are successful, it will likely be at least a year before we have a resolution.

PBSA recommends that you let your clients know that this denial by the Supreme Court means that criminal-records checks in California will continue to become increasingly more difficult and/or impossible. This email can be shared/forwarded to your clients.

We know this is extremely challenging for all of you, our members, and your clients, and we will continue to work diligently to pursue any potential opportunities to resolution. We are going to need your help and engagement as we move forward.

You can do two things today.

First, please follow PBSA on social media to extend our reach when we start the social-media parts of our campaigns. You'll find us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Second, please sign up in our Legislative Action Center (this and other resources are found under Government Relations tab on our home page), so that we can associate you with your local legislators.

Beyond that, please continue to monitor your email for more updates from PBSA, sign up for the PBSA Government Relations Community forum, and attend the monthly PBSA Government Relations update calls for updates as well as next steps and how you can help.
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