March 16, 2009

Mr. Eric Stoebner

Assistant District Attorney

Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office

133 North Industrial Boulevard., LB-19

Dallas, Texas 75207-4399

OR2009-03407

Dear Mr. Stoenber:

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# 337380.

The Dallas County District Attorney's Office (the "district attorney") received a request for all records pertaining to a specified prosecution, excluding the trial transcripts. You state that the district attorney will release some of the requested information. You have redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim that the remaining submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information. We have also considered comments submitted by the requestor. See Gov't Code § 552.304 (interested party may submit comments stating why information should or should not be released).

Section 552.108 of the Government Code provides in pertinent part:

(a) Information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime is excepted from [required public disclosure] if:

. . .

(4) it is information that:

(A) is prepared by an attorney representing the state in anticipation of or in the course of preparing for criminal litigation; or

(B) represents the mental impressions or legal reasoning of an attorney representing the state.

Id. § 552.108(a)(4). A governmental body that claims an exception to disclosure under section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why this exception is applicable to the information that the governmental body seeks to withhold. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977); Open Records Decision No. 434 at 2-3 (1986).

In Curry v. Walker, 873 S.W.2d 379 (Tex. 1994), the Texas Supreme Court held that a request for a district attorney's "entire litigation file" was "too broad" and held that "the decision as to what to include in [the file] necessarily reveals the attorney's thought processes concerning the prosecution or defense of the case." Id. at 380 (quoting Nat'l Fire Ins. Co. v. Valdez, 863 S.W.2d 458 (Tex. 1993)). In this instance, the requestor seeks all of the district attorney's information related to a specified criminal case. You contend, and we agree, this request encompasses the entire prosecution file. Based on your representations and our review of the submitted information, we conclude that section 552.108(a)(4) of the Government Code is applicable in this instance.

We note, 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 Publishing 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). See Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information made public by Houston Chronicle). Thus, with the exception of basic information, which you state will be released, the district attorney may withhold the submitted information from disclosure pursuant to section 552.108(a)(4) of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾

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,

Laura E. Ream

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LER/jb

Ref: ID# 337380

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note that 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.

2. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against the disclosure of the submitted information.

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