January 29, 2009

Ms. Pamela Smith

Assistant General Counsel

Texas Department of Public Safety

P.O. Box 4087

Austin, Texas 78773-0001

OR2009-01152

Dear Ms. Smith:

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# 333589 (OR 08-2021).

The Texas Department of Public Safety (the "department") received a request for all cases investigated by a named Texas Ranger. You state that you will release information regarding closed cases and basic information from active and suspended cases. See Gov't Code § 552.108(c) (basic information about an arrested person, and arrest, or a crime is not excepted under section 552.108); see also Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). You claim that the remaining information from the active and suspended cases is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. ⁽¹⁾

Section 552.108(a)(1) excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . .  if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108(a)(1) must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that some of the responsive reports are active and the named officer is currently pursuing investigative leads. You state that other responsive reports are suspended investigations that are not currently being investigated, but may be pursued if additional information is acquired. Based on your representations and our review, we conclude that the release of the information you have marked 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., 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (per curiam) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). Accordingly, the department may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1).

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information 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 information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General at (512) 475-2497.

Sincerely,

Olivia A. Maceo

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

OM/eeg

Ref: ID# 333589

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

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.

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