July 20, 2010

Mr. Peter G. Smith

City Attorney

City of Richardson

P.O. Box 831078

Richardson, Texas 75083-1078

OR2010-10799

Dear Mr. 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# 387268 (Reference File No. 10-321).

The Richardson Police Department (the "department") received a request for information on police calls pertaining to a specified address involving four named individuals during a specified period of time, including any citations issued. You claim that portions of the submitted information 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. Section 552.101 encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information if it (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. 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 established. 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) (finding significant privacy interest in compilation of individual's criminal history by recognizing distinction between public records found in courthouse files and local police stations and compiled summary of criminal history information). Furthermore, we find a compilation of a private citizen's criminal history is generally not of legitimate concern to the public. You claim the present request requires the department to compile the criminal history of the named individuals. We agree the present request requires the department to compile unspecified criminal history records concerning the individuals named in the request, thus implicating the named individuals' rights to privacy. Therefore, to the extent the department maintains law enforcement records depicting the named individuals as suspects, arrestees, or criminal defendants, the department must withhold any such information under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. ⁽¹⁾

We note you have submitted information that does not list the named individuals as suspects, arrestees, or criminal defendants. This information does not implicate the named individuals' rights to privacy. Thus, this information may not be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. As no exceptions to disclosure are raised this information, this 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,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/eeg

Ref: ID# 387268

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. As our ruling on this information is dispositive, we do not address your remaining argument against its disclosure.

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