 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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August 22, 2006 Mr. Rashaad V. Gambrell
OR2006-09631 Dear Mr. Gambrell: 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# 261023. The Houston Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, 552.130, and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. Initially, we note that the submitted information includes an arrest warrant and a complaint. Article 15.26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states "[t]he arrest warrant, and any affidavit presented to the magistrate in support of the issuance of the warrant, is public information[.]" Article 15.04 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that "[t]he affidavit made before the magistrate or district or county attorney is called a 'complaint' if it charges the commission of an offense." Case law indicates that a complaint can support the issuance of an arrest warrant. See Janecka v. State, 739 S.W.2d 813, 822-23 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987); Borsari v. State, 919 S.W.2d 913, 918 (Tex. App.-Houston [14 Dist.] 1996, pet. ref'd) (complaint in support of arrest warrant need not contain same particularity required of indictment); Villegas v. State, 791 S.W.2d 226, 235 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 1990, pet. ref'd). The exceptions to disclosure in the Act do not apply to information that is made public by other statutes. See Open Records Decision Nos. 623 at 3 (1994), 525 at 3 (1989). Therefore, the arrest warrant and complaint, which we have marked, must be released pursuant to article 15.26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. You assert that the remaining information is excepted under section 552.101 of the Government Code, excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." This section encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 58.007 of the Family Code. Juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential under section 58.007. Section 58.007(c) reads as follows: Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be: (1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records; (2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and (3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapter B. Fam. Code § 58.007(c). The remaining documents contain information that involves juvenile conduct occurring after September 1, 1997. None of the exceptions in section 58.007 appears to apply. Therefore, the remaining information is confidential pursuant to section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and the department must withhold it under section 552.101 of the Government Code.(1) To conclude, the department must release the marked arrest warrant and complaint pursuant to article 15.26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The department must withhold the remaining information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007 of the Family Code. 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. 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, James L. Coggeshall
c: Ms. Tracy McKenzie
Footnotes 1. As we are able to resolve this under section 58.007, we do not address your other arguments for exception of this information. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB:WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |