 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
 |
August 27, 2007 Sheriff Dennis D. Wilson OR2007-11093 Dear Sheriff Wilson: 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# 287522. The Limestone County Sheriff's Office (the "sheriff") received a request for information concerning whether four named individuals have "ever been incarcerated in [the sheriff's] facility." You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. (1) Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information if (1) the information contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) the information is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be demonstrated. Id. at 681-82. A compilation of an individual's criminal history is highly embarrassing information, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person. Cf. U. S. Dep't of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749, 764 (1989) (when considering prong regarding individual's privacy interest, court recognized distinction between public records found in courthouse files and local police stations and compiled summary of information and noted that individual has significant privacy interest in compilation of one's criminal history). Furthermore, we find that a compilation of a private citizen's criminal history is generally not of legitimate concern to the public. The present request requires the sheriff to compile unspecified police records concerning the individuals at issue. Therefore, to the extent the sheriff maintains unspecified law enforcement records depicting the named individuals as suspects, arrestees, or criminal defendants, the sheriff must withhold such information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. We note, however, that information pertaining to an individual's current involvement in the criminal justice system does not constitute a compilation of one's criminal history. Cf. § 411.081(b) (allowing a police department to disclose to the public CHRI that is related to the offense for which a person is involved in the criminal justice system). You have submitted information reflecting a named individual's current involvement in the criminal justice system. The sheriff may not withhold the submitted information that pertains to the named individual's current involvement in the criminal justice system under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. We note that a portion of the submitted documents are subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. (2) Section 552.130 excepts from disclosure "information [that] relates to. . . a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state [or] a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state." Gov't Code § 552.130. Accordingly, the sheriff must withhold the Texas driver's license number we have marked pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code. In summary, to the extent the sheriff maintains unspecified law enforcement records depicting the named individuals as suspects, arrestees, or criminal defendants, other than those pertaining to the individuals' current involvement in the criminal justice system, the sheriff must withhold such information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. The sheriff must withhold the marked Texas driver's license number pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released. (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, Jordan Johnson Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division JJ/jb Ref: ID# 287522 Enc. Submitted documents c: Mr. Keith Jackson Criminal Integrity P.O. Box 340731 Tampa, Florida 33694-0731 (w/o enclosures)
1. We assume that the "representative 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.
The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental
body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470
(1987).
We note that the submitted information contains a social security number. 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 office under the Act. POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |