May 20, 2002

Mr. Tim Molina
Assistant Public Information Coordinator
Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548

OR2002-2663

Dear Mr. Molina:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 163139.

The Office of the Attorney General (the "OAG") received a request for copies of reports concerning an incident involving the requestor's son.⁽¹⁾ You indicate that some of the requested information will be released. However, you claim that the remainder of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.108(a) of the Government Code provides, in pertinent part, that information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime is excepted from disclosure if "release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108 must demonstrate, if the information does not supply the explanation on its face, how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement or prosecution. See Gov't Code §§ 552.108(a), (b), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that the submitted information relates to a pending investigation that is being conducted by the City of Dallas Police Department. You have also submitted a letter from the Deputy Chief of Police for the Dallas Police Department in which the deputy chief indicates that the requested information relates to an ongoing murder investigation and, therefore, the information should be withheld under section 552.108. Based on the submitted arguments and our review of the submitted information, we find that the release of the information "would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime." Gov't Code § 552.108(a); see Open Records Decision Nos. 372 at 4 (1983) (stating that where incident involving criminal conduct remains under active investigation or prosecution, section 552.108 may be invoked by any proper custodian of related information), 493 at 2 (1988), 272 (1981); see also Attorney General Opinion MW-575 at 1-2 (1982) (construing statutory predecessor). Accordingly, we conclude that the OAG may withhold the submitted information from disclosure pursuant to section 552.108 of the Government Code.

We note, however, that information normally found on the front page of an offense report is generally considered public. See generally Gov't Code § 552.108(c); Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976); Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976). Thus, you must release the types of information that are considered to be front page offense report information, even if this information is not actually located on the front page of the offense report. You may withhold the remainder of the submitted information under section 552.108(a)(1).

This letter ruling is limited to the particular records at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other records or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must appeal by filing suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such an appeal, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id. § 552.353(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id. § 552.321(a).

If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the statute, the attorney general expects that, within 10 calendar days of this ruling, the governmental body will do one of the following three things: 1) release the public records; 2) notify the requestor of the exact day, time, and place that copies of the records will be provided or that the records can be inspected; or 3) notify the requestor of the governmental body's intent to challenge this letter ruling in court. If the governmental body fails to do one of these three things within 10 calendar days of this ruling, then the requestor should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at 877/673-6839. The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e).

If this ruling requires or permits the governmental body to withhold all or some of the requested information, the requestor can appeal that decision by suing the governmental body. Id. § 552.321(a); Tex. Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408, 411 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ).

Please remember that under the Act the release of information triggers certain procedures for costs and charges to the requestor. If records are released in compliance with this ruling, be sure that all charges for the information are at or below the legal amounts. Questions or complaints about over-charging must be directed to Hadassah Schloss at the Texas Building and Procurement Commission at 512/475-2497.

If the governmental body, the requestor, or any other person has questions or comments about this ruling, they may contact our office. We note that a third party may challenge this ruling by filing suit seeking to withhold information from a requestor. Gov't Code § 552.325. Although there is no statutory deadline for contacting us, the attorney general prefers to receive any comments within 10 calendar days of the date of this ruling.

Sincerely,

Nathan E. Bowden
Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Division
NEB/er
Ref: ID# 163139
Enc: Submitted documents

c: Ms. Dorothy Reed
1255 Robin Glen Road
Dallas, Texas 75232
(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The requestor also asks for suggestions regarding other individuals she could contact for help in gathering information about her son's death. We note that the Public Information Act does not generally require that a governmental body provide answers to factual questions or prepare new information in response to a request. Open Records Decision Nos. 555 at 1 -2 (1990); A&T Consultants, Inc. v. Sharp, 904 S.W.2d 668, 676 (Tex. 1995). Nevertheless, a governmental body must make a good-faith effort to relate a request to information that it holds or to which it has access. See Open Records Decision Nos. 563 at 8 (1990), 561 at 8-9 (1990), 555 at 1-2 (1990), 534 at 2-3 (1989).
 

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