Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: Video Surveillance

In general, a defendant may see and copy the plaintiff's evidence.

Is this a civil or criminal matter? If criminal, your son would be entitled to review the evidence against him after the charges are brought and before trial, and probably before being "held to answer" on the charges.

In a civil lawsuit, after filing, service and answer, each side is entitled to access to the other side's evidence through what is called "discovery." Nearly anything that is relevant evidence or could lead to relevant evidence can be demanded through an appropriate discovery demand, and this would include surveillance tapes.

If there is a policy of erasing tapes after a certain period for re-use, etc., your attorney should inform the plaintiff that the tapes are considered evidence and must not be erased or destroyed.