May 12, 2011

Ms. J. Middlebrooks

Assistant City Attorney

Criminal Law and Police Section

City of Dallas

1400 South Lamar

Dallas, Texas 75215

OR2011-06618

Dear Ms. Middlebrooks:

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# 417443 (PIR # 2011-01598).

The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for records pertaining to two specified events and records pertaining to a named individual. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.130 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. 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.

In part, the present request requires the department to compile unspecified police records concerning the named individual. Therefore, to the extent the department maintains unspecified 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.

However, we note that the requestor also seeks information related to two specified events. This information does not implicate the named individual's common-law privacy concerns. Therefore, we will address your claimed exceptions for this information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code also encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 58.007 of the Family Code. Section 58.007 provides in pertinent part as follows:

(c) 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). Law enforcement records relating to juvenile conduct, whether delinquent conduct or conduct in need of supervision, that occurred on or after September 1, 1997, are confidential under section 58.007 of the Family Code. See id. § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" for purposes of title 3 of the Family Code). For purposes of section 58.007, "child" means a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. See id. § 51.02(2). Upon review, we agree the information we have marked involves allegations of a juvenile engaged in delinquent conduct occurring after September 1, 1997. You do not indicate, nor does it appear, that any of the exceptions in section 58.007 of the Family Code apply to this information. Thus, the information we have marked is subject to section 58.007(c), and must be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾

In summary, to the extent the department maintains unspecified 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. The department must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007 of the Family 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, toll free at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Sean Nottingham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SN/eeg

Ref: ID# 417443

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments for this information.

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