If a person sues a police department for wrongful arrest or excessive force, and an informant’s tip was the basis for the arrest, a judge may order disclosure. In Johnson v. City of Indianapolis (S.D. Ind. 2018), the federal court ordered the city to identify a CI who had provided false information leading to an illegal search.
Yes, but limited.
Under Roviaro v. United States (1957) and Indiana case law (Kindred v. State, 524 N.E.2d 279 (Ind. 1988)), disclosure is required when:
The defense must file a motion to disclose confidential informant, not simply ask for the list. confidential informant list indiana
This is the most common legal battleground. While the public cannot obtain a CI list, a criminal defendant may be able to force disclosure under certain circumstances.
This is where the keyword "confidential informant list Indiana" intersects with criminal defense. Under the Sixth Amendment and Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors must turn over exculpatory evidence. But the U.S. Supreme Court’s balancing test from Roviaro v. United States (1957) governs informant privilege.
In Indiana, a defendant can file a motion for disclosure of informant identity. However, the court applies a three-part test: If a person sues a police department for
In practice, Indiana judges rarely order the release of the entire informant list. Instead, they may order in camera review—the judge examines the list privately and releases only the relevant informant’s identity if it would help prove innocence.
For defense lawyers in Indiana, the inability to access a CI list is a daily frustration. They often file motions to compel disclosure, arguing that their client has a Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses. But prosecutors routinely invoke the informant’s privilege, and judges often side with the state.
A defense attorney may use other strategies: The defense must file a motion to disclose
Indiana has a grim history of retaliation against informants. In 2014, a confidential informant in Lake County was shot and killed after his identity was leaked in a police report that was left unsecured. In 2019, a Gary, Indiana man was charged with murdering a woman he believed was cooperating with police.
These real-world consequences drive the extreme secrecy. Many police departments in Indiana require informants to sign nondisclosure agreements, and some use “blind informant” systems where even the officer handling the CI may not know their real name.