LAPD Whistle Blower’s
Case Heard by Appeals Court Robert
Mullally, the legal researcher turned whistle-blower who
brought attention to domestic violence felonies
committed by Los Angeles police officers, may face time
in federal prison for leaking personnel files to a local
television station. The files documented 79 LAPD
officers who had brutally beaten, and in some cases
raped, wives, girlfriends and family members. None of
the officers were ever arrested, and the majority
remained on the force as gun-carrying police officers.
By exposing the files, Mullally hoped that public
outrage would lead to reform in the LAPD.
In
March 2001, Mullally was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
The sentence was stayed, pending an appeal, and was
heard last week by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The
court’s decision is expected in a few months. If
sentenced, Mullally could become the first person every
sentenced to jail in the United States for violating a
protective order in a civil law suit. Mullally’s appeal
comes at a time of increasing controversy over the use
of court orders to seal files containing information on
pedophilia committed by priests, and on the dangers of
cigarettes and automobile tires.
In the wake of
the media coverage generated by Mullally’s actions, the
Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Center for
Women & Policing pushed for reforms that resulted in
an investigation of the LAPD by the Inspector General,
and the development of a special internal affairs unit
to handle officer-involved domestic violence. Both FMF
and NCWP have continued to support Mullally throughout
his case by helping with court costs, filing amicus
briefs on his behalf, and by publicly urging that
Mullally’s sentence be overturned on the grounds that he
acted to protect women and children from police officers
who had abdicated their duty to protect and had
themselves become threats to the public.
 OR 
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Media Resources: Los Angeles Times, 10/12/02
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