February 18, 2009

Mr. Ronald J. Bounds

Assistant City Attorney

City of Corpus Christi

P. O. Box 9277

Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277

OR2009-02092

Dear Mr. Bounds:

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# 337620.

The Corpus Christi Fire Department (the "department") received a request for the fire report and associated photographs of a specified matter. You state that you are making a some of the responsive information available to the requestor but claim that the submitted autopsy photographs are excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 11 of article 49.25 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides as follows:

The medical examiner shall keep full and complete records properly indexed, giving the name if known of every person whose death is investigated, the place where the body was found, the date, the cause and manner of death, and shall issue a death certificate. The records are subject to required public disclosure in accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code, except that a photograph or x-ray of a body taken during an autopsy is excepted from required public disclosure in accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code, but is subject to disclosure:

(1) under a subpoena or authority of other law; or

(2) if the photograph or x-ray is of the body of a person who died while in the custody of law enforcement.

Code Crim. Proc. art. 49.25, § 11. You indicate that the exceptions to confidentiality provided in section 11 of article 49.25 are not applicable in this instance. Therefore, we conclude that the department must withhold the autopsy photographs under section 552.101 of the Government Code as information made confidential by law.

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,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/eb

Ref: ID# 337620

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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