May 4, 2010

Mr. Mack Reinwand

Arlington Police Department

Legal Division

Mail Stop 04-0200

P.O. Box 1065

Arlington, Texas 76004-1065

OR2010-06374

Dear Mr. Reinwand:

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# 378271 (Arlington Police Department Request No. 128-022210).

The Arlington Police Department (the "department") received a request for any police reports or criminal records pertaining to a named individual. You claim the submitted information is 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 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 the common-law right to privacy, which protects information if (1) the information contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) the information is not of legitimate concern to the public. See Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be met. Id. at 681-82. A compilation of an individual's criminal history is highly embarrassing information, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person. Cf. U.S. Dep't of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749, 764 (1989) (when considering prong regarding individual's privacy interest, court recognized distinction between public records found in courthouse files and local police stations and compiled summary of information and noted that individual has significant privacy interest in compilation of one's criminal history). Furthermore, we find that a compilation of a private citizen's criminal history is generally not of legitimate concern to the public.

The present request requires the department to compile unspecified law enforcement records concerning a named individual. Thus, we find that this request implicates this individual's right to privacy. Therefore, to the extent the department maintains law enforcement records depicting the named individual as a suspect, arrestee, or criminal defendant, the department must withhold such information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

You have submitted incident reports 01-91533, 08-61516, 08-82438, and 09-38236 that do not list the named individual as a suspect, arrestee, or criminal defendant; thus this information is not part of a compilation and may not be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy as a compilation of criminal history. Although you generally assert these reports are protected by common-law privacy, you have failed to provide any arguments explaining how any part of these reports constitutes highly intimate or embarrassing information that is not of legitimate concern to the public. Thus, you have failed to demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy to reports 01-91533, 08-61516, 08-82438, and 09-38236. Consequently, the department may not withhold these reports under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

However, we note that reports 01-91533, 08-61516, 08-82438, and 09-38236 contain information subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ Section 552.130 excepts from disclosure information that relates to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license issued by an agency of this state. See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1). We have marked Texas driver's license numbers in these reports that must be withheld pursuant to section 552.130. ⁽²⁾

In summary, to the extent the department maintains records that depict the named individual as a criminal defendant, suspect, or arrestee, the department must withhold this information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. The department must withhold the Texas driver's license numbers we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released.

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, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Pamela Wissemann

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

PFW/em

Ref: ID# 378271

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

2. We note this office recently issued Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009), a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information, including Texas driver's license numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

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