 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
|
October 17, 2005 Ms. Meredith Ladd
OR2005-09388 Dear Ms. Ladd: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 234638. The Town of Flower Mound (the "town"), which you represent, received a request for case number 040132954 and all information contained in the case that was sent to a named individual. You claim that 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)(2) excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . it is information that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation to an investigation that did not result in conviction or deferred adjudication[.]" Section 552.108(a)(2) is applicable only if the information in question relates to a concluded case that did not result in a conviction or a deferred adjudication. You inform us that the submitted information pertains to a criminal investigation that resulted in a conclusion other than conviction or a deferred adjudication. Thus, based on your representations and our review of the information, we agree that section 552.108 (a)(2) is applicable to the submitted information. However, section 552.108 does not except basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. See 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). We believe such basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle, including a detailed description of the offense. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-87. Thus, the town must release the types of information that are considered to be front page information, even if this information is not actually located on the front page. See Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information made public by Houston Chronicle). In addition, we note that the requestor contends that portions of the information at issue have been previously released to the public. Section 552.007 of the Government Code provides that, if a governmental body voluntarily releases information to any member of the public, the governmental body may not withhold such information from further disclosure unless its public release is expressly prohibited by law. See Gov't Code 552.007; Open Records Decision No. 518 at 3 (1989). Section 552.108 is a discretionary exception that may be waived by a governmental body; this exception does not make information confidential. See Open Records Decision No. 177 (1977) (governmental body may waive statutory predecessor to section 552.108); see also Open Records Decision No. 665 at 2 n.5 (2000) (discretionary exceptions generally). Therefore, the town may withhold the submitted information pursuant to section 552.108 only if it has not been previously released to a member the public. On the other hand, if the town has previously made any of this information publicly available, such information must be released since the town does not cite and we are unaware of any law that makes this information confidential. 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, upon receiving this ruling, the governmental body will either release the public records promptly pursuant to section 552.221(a) of the Government Code or file a lawsuit challenging this ruling pursuant to section 552.324 of the Government Code. If the governmental body fails to do one of these things, 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 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 Office of the Attorney General 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. 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, L. Joseph James
c: Mr. Steve Nelson
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |