 Office of the ATTORNEY GENERAL GREG ABBOTT | |
|
January 23, 2003 Mr. John Feldt
OR2003-0487 Dear Mr. Feldt: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 175453. The Denton County District Attorney (the "district attorney") received a request for "information on [the requestor's] legal status on the judicial records of me;" specifically the request seeks "a certified copy of all [the requestor's] arrest reports and final d[i]sposition." You state that you interpret this request to seek the district attorney's prosecution files relating to the requestor. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.130 of the Government Code.(1) We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.(2) We note that the submitted information consists of completed investigations made of, for, or by the district attorney. Section 552.022(a)(1) of the Government Code provides that such information is not excepted from required disclosure under the Public Information Act, except as provided by section 552.108, or unless the information is expressly confidential under other law. We will therefore address whether the information at issue is excepted under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.130 of the Government Code. Section 552.108 of the Government Code states in pertinent part: (b) An internal record or notation of a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that is maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement or prosecution is excepted from [required public disclosure] if: . . . . (3) the internal record or notation: (A) is prepared by an attorney representing the state in anticipation of or in the course of preparing for criminal litigation; or (B) reflects the mental impressions or legal reasoning of an attorney representing the state. (c) This section does not except from [required public disclosure] information that is basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. You state that the information at issue was prepared by attorneys representing the state in anticipation of or in the course of preparing for criminal litigation. You assert that these documents reflect the mental impressions and legal reasoning of attorneys representing the state. Based on your representations and arguments and our review of the submitted information, we conclude that you have established the applicability of section 552.108(b)(3) to the submitted information. However, section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). We believe such basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle Publishing Company 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). In Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976), this office summarized the types of information made public pursuant to Houston Chronicle. See Open Records Decision No. 127 at 4 (1976). You must release this information whether or not it is found on the front page of an offense report. As our ruling on this issue is dispositive, we need not address your other arguments. 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); Texas Department of Public 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, Denis C. McElroy
c: Ms. Wanna Peel
Footnotes 1. Although you also assert that sections 552.107 and 552.111 apply to the submitted information, you have not provided "written comments stating the reasons why the[se] exceptions apply that would allow the information to be withheld." Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A). Therefore, we do not address those exceptions in this ruling. 2. We assume that the sample of records submitted to this office is truly representative of the requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open records letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records to the extent that those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |