 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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November 9, 2007 Ms. Kelley K. Messer OR2007-14773 Dear Ms. Messer: 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# 294418. The City of Abilene Attorney's Office (the "city attorney") received a request for all information pertaining to citation number 508572. You claim that the submitted 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. Initially, we note that the submitted information contains documents filed with a court, which are expressly public under section 552.022(a)(17) of the Government Code. Such information must be released unless it is expressly confidential under other law. You claim that the information at issue is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. However, section 552.108 is a discretionary exception that protects a governmental body's interests and is therefore not "other law" for purposes of section 552.022(a)(17). See Open Records Decision Nos. 665 at 2 n.5 (2000) (discretionary exceptions generally), 586 (1991) (governmental body may waive section 552.108). Therefore, the city attorney may not withhold any of the court-filed documents under section 552.108. Accordingly, the court-filed documents, which we have marked, must be released to the requestor. Section 552.108(a) excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if: (1) release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime." Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See Gov't Code §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You indicate that the remaining information relates to a pending criminal prosecution. We note, however, that a portion of the information in question consists of a citation that appears to have been issued to the requestor. A copy of a citation is generally provided to the individual being cited. We conclude that release of information that has been provided to the cited individual will not interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. However, in this instance, we cannot determine if the citation at issue was provided to the cited individual, and thus, we must rule conditionally. Accordingly, section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable only to the portions of the citation that were not provided to the cited individual. The portions of the citation that were provided to the cited individual must be released. With respect to the remaining information we conclude that based upon your representations, release of the remaining information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See 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) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). 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). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. Thus, with the exception of the basic front page offense and arrest information, you may withhold the remaining information from disclosure based on section 552.108(a)(1). In summary, you must release the court-filed documents that we have marked under section 552.022(a)(17). You must also release the portions of the marked citation that have been provided to the cited individual. With the exception of basic information you may withhold the remaining information under section 552.108(a)(1). 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, Justin D. Gordon Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division JDG/jh Ref: ID# 294418 Enc. Submitted documents c: Mr. Michael Bjorlie 1134 Vine Street Abilene, Texas 79602 (w/o enclosures)
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