 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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June 30, 2006 Mr. John C. West
OR2006-06997 Dear Mr. West: 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# 252894. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Office of the Inspector General (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to the death of an inmate. You state that the department has released some of the requested information with redactions pursuant to the previous determination issued by this office in Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 (2005).(1) You also state that you are withholding social security numbers under section 552.147 of the Government Code.(2) You claim that the remaining requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.134 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, we note that the submitted information also contains a custodial death report. In Open Records Decision No. 521 (1989), this office addressed the confidentiality of custodial death reports and their attachments. Specifically, this office concluded that under article 49.18(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in conjunction with a directive issued by the Office of the Attorney General, Part I of a custodial death report filed with this office is public information, but Parts II through V of the report, including any attachments, are confidential. See Open Records Decision No. 521 at 4-5 (1989); see also Code Crim. Proc. art. 49.18(b) (attorney general shall make report, with exception of any portion of report that attorney general determines is privileged, available to any interested person). Article 49.18 requires that a custodial death report be filed "with the attorney general no later than the 30th day after the date on which the person in custody or the incarcerated person died." Code Crim. Proc. art. 49.18(b). More than thirty days passed between the death of the inmate and the date when the inspector general received this request. Thus, the inspector general must release the entirety of Part I of the submitted custodial death report as information made public by statute. See generally Open Records Decision No. 525 (1989) (exceptions found in statutory predecessor to Act do not apply to information that is made public by other statutes). Parts II through V of the report, including any attachments, are confidential and must not be released. Section 552.134 of the Government Code provides in relevant part: (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or by Section 552.029, information obtained or maintained by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021 if it is information about an inmate who is confined in a facility operated by or under a contract with the department. Gov't Code § 552.134(a). Section 552.134 is explicitly made subject to section 552.029. Section 552.029 provides that [n]otwithstanding . . . Section 552.134, the following information about an inmate who is confined in a facility operated by or under a contract with the [department] is subject to required disclosure under Section 552.021: (1) the inmate's name, identification number, age, birthplace, department photograph, physical description, or general state of health or the nature of an injury to or critical illness suffered by the inmate; (8) basic information regarding the death of an inmate in custody, an incident involving the use of force, or an alleged crime involving the inmate. Id. § 552.029(1), (8). We find that section 552.134(a) is generally applicable to the remaining submitted information. We note, however, that this information includes department photographs of an inmate to whom the information pertains. The department must release the photographs of the inmate, which we have marked, under section 552.029(1). Furthermore, as you acknowledge, because the records relate to a crime involving an inmate, the department must release basic information regarding this incident, which you state you have released, pursuant to section 552.029(8). Basic information includes the time and place of the incident, the names of inmates and of department employees who were involved, a brief narrative of the incident, a brief description of any injuries sustained by anyone involved, and information regarding any criminal charges or disciplinary actions that were filed as a result of the incident. The remaining submitted information must be withheld under section 552.134 of the Government Code. In summary, the department must release the entirety of Part I of the submitted custodial death report. However, parts II through V of the report, including any attachments, are confidential and must not be released. With the exception of information that must be released under section 552.029, the department must withhold the remaining submitted information pursuant to section 552.134.(3) 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, Tamara L. Harswick
c: Mr. Edward S. Garza
Footnotes 1. Open Records Letter No. 2005-01067 serves as a previous determination that the present and former home addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers and family member information of current or former employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, regardless of whether the current or former employee complies with section 552.1175 of the Government Code, are excepted from disclosure under section 552.117(a)(3) of the Government Code. 2. We note that section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this officer under the Act. 3. Because we reach this conclusion, we need not address the OIG's remaining argument against disclosure, except to note that the information that is subject to section 552.029(8) corresponds to the basic front-page information that is made public under section 552.108(c). See Gov't Code § 552.108(c); Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177, 186-188 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e., 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (per curiam); Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public in Houston Chronicle). POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |