October 14, 2020

Chief Joseph Silva

University of New Mexico Police Department
2500 Campus Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106

VIA ELECTRONICALLY MAIL: JSilva23@unm.edu

RE: Implementation of ​Giglio​ Policy

Dear Chief Silva,

From pretrial detention for dangerous individuals to independent investigations of officer

involved shootings, I have been advocating for and advancing reforms both to enhance public
safety and to restore the public’s faith in the criminal justice system. I write to you now to inform
you of an important reform I am implementing designed to increase transparency while holding
prosecutors and law enforcement officers accountable. At the heart of this reform is the principle
that those individuals entrusted to enforce the law must themselves be upstanding in character.

As you are aware, prosecutors have a duty to provide defendants all known evidence that tends
to negate or mitigate a defendant’s guilt. The U.S. Supreme Court has expanded this
responsibility to information that impacts the reliability of a witness’s testimony, such as bias,
specific instances of dishonesty, or criminal convictions. These disclosures to the defendant are
generally known as ​Giglio​ disclosures, named for the U.S. Supreme Court case that established
this requirement. For witnesses who are police officers, the prosecution is required to investigate
whether ​Giglio​ material exists.

My office joins a growing number of prosecutor offices around the nation that are embracing
reform and police accountability by formalizing this ​Giglio​ inquiry process. Historically,
requests for ​Giglio​ material have been done on a case-by-case basis and the results of earlier
Giglio​ inquiries have not been searchable. Beginning in November my office will start

520 Lomas Boulevard NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 

implementing a formal and searchable system. Law enforcement officers listed as witnesses in an
open case will receive a ​Giglio​ questionnaire electronically. The questionnaire will guide officers
through a series of questions designed to catalog and identify potential ​Giglio​ information that
may require additional investigation. This new process is a systemic upgrade that will make
these requests formal, consistent, and streamlined.

When potential ​Giglio​ information is identified by an officer, prosecutors from my office will
submit a formal request to the officer’s law enforcement agency for responsive information. The
law enforcement agency should then provide a summary of ​Giglio​ material in an officer’s
personnel file. Some law enforcement agencies facilitate this process by providing their officers
with a ​Giglio​ notice whenever any such information is added to their personnel file. Examples of
Giglio​ information include, but are not limited to:

● Misconduct that reflects bias

○ Information that may be used to suggest that the investigative employee is biased
for or against a defendant or witness in the case

○ Information that may be used to suggest that an investigative employee is biased

against a particular class of people, for example, based on a person’s gender,
gender identity, race, or ethnic group

● Misconduct that reflects on truthfulness

○ A sustained finding that an investigative employee has filed a false report or

submitted a false certification in any criminal, administrative, employment,
financial, or insurance matter in his or her professional or personal life

○ A sustained finding that an investigative employee was untruthful or has

demonstrated a lack of candor

○ A finding of fact by a judicial authority or administrative tribunal that is known to

the employee’s agency, which concludes in a finding that the investigative
employee was intentionally untruthful in a matter, either verbally or in writing

○ A sustained finding that undermines or contradicts an investigative employee’s

educational achievements or qualifications as an expert witness

○ Inappropriate or unauthorized use of government data

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 ● Criminal Charges

○ A pending criminal charge or conviction of any crime, disorderly persons, petty

disorderly persons, municipal ordinance, or driving while intoxicated matter

● Other misconduct in investigations

○ Any allegation of misconduct bearing upon truthfulness, bias, or integrity that is

the subject of a pending investigation

○ Any promises, offers, threats, or inducements, including the offer of immunity

○ A sustained finding, or judicial finding, that an investigative employee

intentionally mishandled or destroyed evidence

○ Misconduct that involves the use of force

Our office will disclose ​Giglio​ material to defense counsel, file a notice of disclosure, and log the
disclosure on a ​Giglio​ list. Filing the notice of disclosure and maintaining a list will improve
accountability and transparency for both our prosecutors and law enforcement officers.

I have begun to retrain all of the attorneys in my office regarding ​Giglio​ and I am prepared to
offer ​Giglio​ training to your officers and attorneys as well. I am confident that formalizing ​Giglio
investigations, making the results publicly available, and retraining personnel in our respective
offices will strengthen the quality of cases prosecuted in our district and provide the public with
the level of transparency and accountability they expect and deserve. I look forward to working
with you to implement this important reform. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would
like to meet to discuss this or if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Raúl Torrez
District Attorney

Cc: Loretta P. Martinez, Chief Legal Counsel, University of New Mexico

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