April 2, 2009

Mr. Samuel D. Hawk

Assistant City Attorney

Criminal Law and Police Division

City of Dallas

1400 South Lamar

Dallas, Texas 75215-1815

OR2009-04355

Dear Mr. Hawk:

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# 338824 (DPD ORR# 2009-0311).

The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for any information regarding the requestor from a specified time period, including a specified police report. You state you are releasing some information to the requestor. You claim that the three submitted reports are 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.

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. You raise section 552.101 in conjunction with the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. See Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). The types of information considered to be intimate and embarrassing by the Texas Supreme Court in Industrial Foundation include information relating to sexual assault, pregnancy, mental or physical abuse in the workplace, illegitimate children, psychiatric treatment of mental disorders, attempted suicide, and injuries to sexual organs. Id. at 683. You assert that report No. 463303-L, which pertains to an alleged sexual assault, should be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 and common-law privacy. Generally, only information that either identifies or tends to identify a victim of sexual assault or other sex-related offense may be withheld under common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision Nos. 440 (1986), 393 (1983), 339 (1982). However, a governmental body is required to withhold an entire report when identifying information is inextricably intertwined with other releasable information or when the requestor knows the identity of the victim. See ORD Nos. 393, 339; see also ORD No. 440 (detailed descriptions of serious sexual offenses must be withheld). The requestor in this case knows the identity of the alleged victim of a sexual assault. In this instance, withholding only identifying information from the requestor would not preserve the victim's common-law right to privacy. We conclude, therefore, that the department must withhold report No. 463303-L in its entirety under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy.

You also assert report No. 150950-V should be withheld in its entirety under common-law privacy. However, you have not demonstrated, nor does the report reflect, a situation in which the entire report must be withheld on the basis of common-law privacy. Furthermore, upon review, we find that none of the information within this report is highly intimate or embarrassing. Thus, no portion of report No. 150950-V may be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. Accordingly, we will address your remaining argument against disclosure of report No. 150950-V, as well as your argument regarding report No. 81347-V.

Section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code 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). 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 id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). In this instance, you represent to this office that report Nos. 81347-V and 150950-V pertain to a pending criminal investigation. Based on your representation, we conclude that the release of report Nos. 81347-V and 150950-V 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. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e., 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases).

We note that 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. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88. Thus, with the exception of the basic front-page offense and arrest information, the department may withhold the report Nos. 81347-V and 150950-V under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold report No. 436303-L under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. Except for basic information, the department may withhold the remaining reports at issue under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

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,

Reg Hargrove

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

RJH/eeg

Ref: ID# 338824

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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