August 20, 2010

Ms. Luz E. Sandoval-Walker

Assistant City Attorney

El Paso City Prosecutor's Office

810 East Overland Avenue

El Paso, Texas 79901-2516

OR2010-12676

Dear Ms. Sandoval-Walker:

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# 391243 (El Paso Reference No. 2010-06-19-AG).

The City of El Paso (the "city") received a request for all records pertaining to a specified case. You claim that the requested 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 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 section 58.007 of the Family Code. Juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997, are confidential under section 58.007(c), which provides as follows:

Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be:

(1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records;

(2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and

(3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapters B, D, and E.

Fam. Code § 58.007(c). For purposes of section 58.007(c), a "child" is defined as a person ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. Id. § 51.02(2)(A). Section 58.007(c) is not applicable to information that relates to a juvenile as a complainant, victim, witness, or other involved party; it is only applicable to juveniles listed as suspects or offenders. See id. §§ 58.007, 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision" for purposes of section 58.007). We have reviewed the submitted information and find that the submitted report does not identify a juvenile suspect or offender for purposes of section 58.007. Accordingly, we find that you have not demonstrated the applicability of section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. Thus, you may not withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. As you raise no further exceptions, the submitted 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,

Jonathan Miles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JM/jb

Ref: ID# 391243

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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