PUBLIC ACCESS TO POLICE DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS AND RECORDS NATION-WIDE, 2025
WHICH STATES ALLOW PUBLIC ACCESS TO POLICE DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS AND RECORDS, AND WHICH DON’T.
Outside St. Louis after the police killing of Michael Brown, Aug. 22, 2014. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
MALONE, NEW YORK Nov. 11, 2025
Public access to police disciplinary hearings nationwide can be broken down into four categories: (1) public access positively commanded by law or regulation; (2) public access allowed by absence of positive law or regulation banning it; (3) after-the-fact access to records of the hearing including its transcript if the officer is found guilty; and (4) secret hearings positively required by law, regulation or practice.
Public access to police disciplinary records is a separate issue, but related to physical access to hearings because some states allow the hearing record to be made public if the officer is found guilty. There is also a separate issue with respect to access to records relating to unsubstantiated charges. Here, the focus is on public access to the hearings and records of those hearings if the officer is found guilty.
A review of the laws, regulations and practices (documented by professional news reporting organizations) of all 50 American states plus the District of Columbia yields the following results:
15 states and the District of Columbia require public police disciplinary hearings by law;
13 states allow, but do not require, public hearings;
15 states allow after-the-fact access to the hearings if the officer is found guilty by allowing access to the hearing records, including the transcript; and
8 states ban public access to hearings by law and restrict access to records either by law or practice.
In short, the overwhelming majority of states and the District of Columbia allow some kind of public access to police disciplinary hearings and records.
ALABAMA
Hearings are open to the public, per the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission rules.
Specifically, APOSTIC Rule 650-X-6-.01 requires "the Commission shall follow the requirements set forth in the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act concerning contested cases as defined in the Code of Ala. 1975, Title 41-22-1 through 41-22-27." AL Code § 41-22-12(h) requires "Oral proceedings shall be open to the public."
Records are generally available to the public under AL Code § 36-12-40, but are sometimes restricted in practice, according to a 2021 state-by-state review by the Associated Press.
ALASKA
Hearings are open to the public, according to the 2021 Associated Press state-by-state report. Records are secret only if the officer was acquitted of misconduct, according to a 2021 Alaska Supreme Court decision in Basey v Alaska.
ARIZONA
Hearings are secret when held, but transcripts are available if the officer is guilty. Under Arizona Statute § 39-128 and § 38-1109, police disciplinary records are available to the public provided the internal investigation has closed and any appeals process has concluded.
ARKANSAS
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed. AR Code § 14-52-303.
Disciplinary records can be made public under AR Code § 25-19-105(c)(1) if they document an officer's suspension or termination and there is a "compelling public interest" in disclosure, according to the 2021 Associated Press compilation.
CALIFORNIA
For decades police departments in California held public hearings for officers accused of major misconduct until a 2006 decision the California Supreme Court called Copley Press v Superior Court, according to the ACLU of Northern California.
In 2018, the California Legislature passed SB1421, The Right To Know Act, which gives the public the right to see records relating to police misconduct and serious uses of force.
The legislature expanded the records required to be disclosed in 2021. In Aug. 2025, a coalition of journalists and police accountability advocates published a database of California police disciplinary records.
In addition, since 1974, California common law allows a citizen to ask a judge to make police disciplinary records public for use as evidence in a civil or criminal proceeding. The proceeding is known as a Pitchess motion (after Pitchess v. Superior Court), the requirements for which are specified in Section 1043 of the California Evidence Code.
COLORADO
Hearings are generally public, but may be closed on a case-by-case basis, according to the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. Police disciplinary records are generally available to the public as well, according to a new Colorado law that took effect in 2023.
CONNECTICUT
Lacks a state law or centralized policy for adjudicating alleged police misconduct, leaving it up to the towns and agencies that employ officers to formulate their own rules. Most governments allow informal discipline without a hearing, according to reporters at a non-profit Connecticut newsroom called InsideInvestigator.org. Disciplinary records are generally available, according to the New England First Amendment Coalition.
DELAWARE
Police disciplinary records are exempt from public disclosure "by both the Delaware Freedom of Information Act and under section 12 of the state’s Law Enforcement Bill of Rights," according to the 2021 Associated Press report.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Disciplinary hearings are open to the public, per the Metropolitan Police Department.
Disciplinary findings are also available to the public through MPD's official website. Other records are generally withheld under the privacy exemption in Section 2-534(a)(2) of the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act, according to the Associated Press.
FLORIDA
Disciplinary hearings are public in Florida, per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which licenses officers. Records pertaining to an active investigation of a complaint are confidential under Florida Statute 112.533(2)(a), but all other police disciplinary records are publicly available under Florida Statute 119.
In addition, police misconduct records are sent to a database that is maintained by the state’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission and this is open for public inspection. Florida is one of the 11 states that provides an integrity bulletin in accordance with the National Decertification Index where offending officers’ names are public, the Associated Press reported.
GEORGIA
Disciplinary hearings and records pertaining to an active disciplinary investigation are confidential under Georgia Code § 50-18-72(a)(8), but all other police disciplinary records are public, according to the Associated Press.
HAWAII
Disciplinary hearings appear to be closed, but the Hawaii Supreme Court recognizes a “compelling public interest in instances of police misconduct given the importance of public oversight of law enforcement.” Records of confirmed disciplinary findings are therefore typically released to the public, according to Honolulu Civil Beat.
IDAHO
Disciplinary hearings are closed, but in 2021 the Idaho Statesman published 18 years' worth of state-wide police disciplinary records it received pursuant to public record requests.
ILLINOIS
Disciplinary hearings are open to the public, pursuant to a "longstanding practice of hearings in serious police disciplinary cases being open to the public," an intermediate Illinois appellate court ruled on Aug. 8, 2025 in Chicago John Dineen Lodge No. 7 v The City of Chicago.
“Hiding these proceedings from public view, as the plaintiff sought, would have undermined trust and cooperation between police officers and the public they serve,” Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry said in a statement reported by Chicago's PBS affiliate, WPPW.
In addition, police disciplinary records are typically public, under Kalven v. City of Chicago, the Associated Press says.
INDIANA
Hearings are closed, but if an officer is found guilty the records become public. Under IN Code § 5-14-3-4 police disciplinary records are public if they pertain to an officer's demotion, suspension, or discharge. In addition, Indiana is one of the 11 states that provides an integrity bulletin in accordance with the National Decertification Index where it makes the names of these officers public. It publishes the names of police who have been "decertified."
IOWA
Hearings are secret per Iowa Code § 22-7-11(a). But if an officer "resigned in lieu of termination, was discharged, or was demoted as the result of a disciplinary action," that's public information along with "the documented reasons and rationale for the resignation in lieu of termination, the discharge, or the demotion" per Iowa Code § 22-7-11(a)(5). Use of Force reports are also public, per a 2025 ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court in Harrison v Mickey.
KANSAS
Disciplinary hearings are secret and records are generally exempt from disclosure under Kansas Statute 45-221.
KENTUCKY
Hearings shall be public, per §13B.080(8) the 2021 Discipline Manual published by the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training. Police disciplinary records are mostly public, per a 2015 nationwide compilation by WNYC.
LOUISIANA
LA Rev Stat § 40:2531 sets the minimum standard for police disciplinary hearings state-wide. It allows public disciplinary hearings—it does not prohibit them.
Louisiana's Public Records Act does not exclude police disciplinary records from release. In 2008, the Louisiana Court of Appeals ruled in City of Baton Rouge v Capital City Press that police officers do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy surrounding on-the-job conduct.
"Mostly public," is how the Associated Press rated access to law enforcement records in Louisiana.
MAINE
Hearings are public per Title 25 MRS §2806-A(10), which provides "If a person subject to this chapter requests an adjudicatory hearing under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, that hearing must be open to the public." Under Title 30 MRS § 503(1)(B)(5), § 2702(1)(B)(5), and § 7070(2)(E), police disciplinary records are public unless they document an active investigation.
MARYLAND
Hearings "shall be open to the public" per MD Public Safety Code § 3-106. Per the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021, the records of those hearings and the complaints that led to them are public.
MASSACHUSETTS
Hearings are open to the public. They're even streamed live on the Internet by the Massachusetts POST Commission, responsible for officer discipline statewide. The board also publishes a database of police disciplinary records on its website.
MICHIGAN
Public access to police disciplinary hearings and records is "restricted," according to the Associated Press. "Police misconduct records are not explicitly secret in Michigan, however they are often denied and considered an unwarranted invasion of privacy under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (Section 15.243.1(a))."
MINNESOTA
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed, under § 626.89 of the 2025 Minnesota Statutes, the Peace Officer Discipline Procedures Act. Police disciplinary records are accessible to the public under Minnesota Statute § 13.43.
MISSISSIPPI
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them to be closed, under § 45-6-7(d) of Title 45 of the Mississippi Code of 1972. Police disciplinary records are exempt from public disclosure under Section 25-1-100 of the Mississippi Code.
MISSOURI
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed, per Chapter 536 of Title 36 of the Missouri Revised Statutes and Chapter 590.080 of MRS Title 38.
The Missouri Department of Public Safety publishes a list of fired officers on its website. Many police disciplinary records are generally withheld as exempt personnel records under Section 610.021(13) of Missouri's Sunshine Law or under a case law privacy right, but not if they relate to alleged crimes in Chasnoff v St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners et al..
MONTANA
Hearings are conducted in secret by the Montana POST Council, but the agency publishes an "Integrity Report" of guilty findings and the facts supporting them on its website.
NEBRASKA
Hearings appear to be closed per Nebraska Revised Statute § 84-1410, and records of those hearings appear to be exempt from disclosure under Nebraska Statute § 84-712.05(7). However, Nebraska Revised Statute § 81-1414.19 requires the Nebraska Crime Commission to "post on its public website a list of all law enforcement officers who have, on or after January 1, 2021," voluntary surrendered their license to be a police officer or had it revoked and the reason(s). Here is a link to Nebraska's list.
NEVADA
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them to be closed, per §§ 284.390-284.405 of the Nevada Administrative Code. The records of police disciplinary hearings are generally treated as confidential employee records per Section 284.718(1)j)(2) of the Nevada Administrative Code.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Police disciplinary hearings are public per Title 7, Chapter 106-L § 106-L:22(II) of the New Hampshire Statutes. Police disciplinary records are public under the Laurie List Act and a trio of state Supreme Court decisions from 2020 and 2023.
NEW JERSEY
Police disciplinary hearings can be public if the accused officer requests it, per apparent statewide practice. Police disciplinary records are public under New Jersey common law, even though they are confidential under the Garden State's Open Public Records Act, per the New Jersey Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Rivera v Union County Prosecutor's Office.
New Jersey's Attorney General has published the names and facts of officers who have been found guilty of major misconduct, a practice upheld by the New Jersey Supreme Court in In re Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive Nos. 2020-5 & 2020-6.
NEW MEXICO
Hearings are public per NMSA § 29-2-11. Records are public if "outcomes of misconduct investigations ... result in dismissal, denial, suspension or revocation of a police officer's" license, per NMSA § 29-7-16.
NEW YORK — police disciplinary hearings for NYPD officers accused of misconduct have long been public. Statewide they are still largely secret, but The Free Lance is suing to open them to the public. His appeal will be heard in the Appellate Division, Third Department in Nicholas v Martuscello on Thursday, Nov. 13.
NORTH CAROLINA
If an officer is dismissed, the date for the dismissal is public but not the reason, per the Associated Press. Hearings and records are largely confidential under North Carolina General Statutes § 153A-98 and § 160A-168, respectively. They may be released via court order or the agency if it determines its in the agency's best interest.
NORTH DAKOTA
Hearings are secret but records are public under North Dakota Code § 44-04-18.
OHIO
Disciplinary records are public under Ohio Code § 149.43.
OKLAHOMA
Hearings appear to be secret due to unchallenged practice.
Oklahoma's Open Records Act 2024 OS §51-24A.20 states access to police records "shall not be denied because a public body or public official is using or has taken possession of such records for investigatory purposes or has placed the records in a litigation or investigation file."
Under Oklahoma Open Records Act 2024 OS § 51-24A.7, police personnel records of "final disciplinary action" resulting in loss of pay, suspension, demotion, or termination are public.
OREGON
Hearings appear to be secret by unchallenged practice. Police disciplinary records are public per 2023 ORS 181A.684 and a database is posted online.
PENNSYLVANIA
Hearings are public in at least Philadelphia through its Police Board of Inquiry Panel and in Pittsburgh through its Citizen Police Review Board. Records are generally exempt from disclosure under Section 67.708(b) of Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. If an officer is demoted or discharged, the reason for the action is exempt but the fact that the officer was demoted or discharged is public, the Associated Press reports.
RHODE ISLAND
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed, per the 2024 Law Enforcement Officers Due Process Accountability and Transparency Act signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee. Disciplinary records and hearing information is published by the Police Officers Commission on Standards & Training on a public website.
SOUTH CAROLINA
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed, per SC Code § 23-23-150 (2024). Disciplinary records, per the same law, are not public documents.
However, SC Code § 23-23-150 also allows those records to be released "by court order." A 2004 decision by the South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in Burton v York Sheriff's Department that there was "a large and vital public interest" in police conduct that outweighed the privacy interests of the officers.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Hearings conducted and records held by the state's Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission are public, per Hank Prim, of the state Division of Criminal Investigation, and Commissioner Tom Wollman who told the South Dakota Searchlight news website "we do want to do our business in the public light."
TENNESSEE
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed, per TN Code § 38-8-305. "Law enforcement misconduct records are fairly accessible according to the Tennessee code," the Associated Press reports.
TEXAS
Texas Government Code § 552 generally makes police disciplinary hearings and records public. Some cities restrict access per Local Government Code § 143, but records related to major misconduct that result in fine, suspension or firing are public.
If a law enforcement officer in Texas contests their firing, the State Office of Administration Hearings holds an F-5 hearing, which is open to the public if the "officer resigned or was terminated due to substantiated incidents of excessive force or violations of the law other than traffic offenses," per Texas Occupational Code § 1701.454 and the SOAH website.
UTAH
Utah Code § 63G-2-301(3)(o) renders police disciplinary records public if the charges against the officer were substantiated. Meaning hearing records become public if the officer is convicted. Anonymized summaries are published on the Internet as "Investigative Bulletins" by the Utah Department of Public Safety.
VERMONT
Access to police disciplinary records in the Green Mountain state is "mostly open," the Associated Press reports.
A 2013 Vermont Supreme Court decision, Rutland Herald v City of Rutland, established the public has an interest in disclosure of misconduct allegations that outweigh officers' interest in privacy. Since 2013, Vermont's Criminal Justice Council has maintained a public list of every officer decertified in the state and the reason(s) therefor.
Internal investigations of Vermont state troopers are conducted by the State Police Advisory Commission and presumptively confidential under 20 VSA § 1923(d), but the Commission can make them public if it deems it necessary "to ensure that proper action is taken in each case," per § 1923(d)(4).
VIRGINIA
Police disciplinary authorities have the discretion to make hearings and records public under the state's Freedom of Information Act, VA Code§ 2.2-3705.1, according to a 2020 report in the Virginia Mercury. "Under Virginia public records laws, police agencies can choose to release records detailing complaints. But in practice, they almost never do. "
WASHINGTON
Police disciplinary records are public per RCW 42.56.240. Disciplinary hearings and decision held and made by the state's Public Employment Relations Commission are public and published on the PERC's Internet website. A national "cheat sheet" published by the Innocence Projects says citizens have "complete public access" to police records in Washington.
WEST VIRGINIA
The state's Freedom of Information requires requests be considered on a case-by-case basis. WV Code § 29B(2)(2) exempts records if their release would constitute an "an unreasonable invasion of privacy." A 2013 West Virginia Supreme Court decision in Charleston Gazette v Smithers establishes that on-the-job police conduct does not qualify as an invasion of privacy under this exemption.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Statute § 19.36(10)(b) makes police disciplinary records public when any investigation is complete. In Wisconsin Newspress, Inc. v School Dist. of Sheboygan Falls, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held no blanket exception exists for public employee disciplinary or personnel records.
WYOMING
State law allows public hearings; it does not require them be closed, per the 2018 Rules promulgated by the Wyoming Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission which adopted the "Rules for Contested Case Practice and Procedure Before the Office of Administrative Hearings." However, police disciplinary records are confidential per WY Stat § 16-4-203(d)(iii).
Send tips or corrections to jasonbnicholas@gmail.com or, if you prefer, thefreelancenews@proton.me