January 4, 2011

Mr. Martin L. Peterson

Assistant District Attorney

Frank Crowley Courts Building

133 North Riverfront Boulevard, LB-19

Dallas, Texas 75207-4399

OR2011-00175

Dear Mr. Peterson:

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# 404795.

The Dallas County District Attorney (the "district attorney") received a request for any and all civil and criminal information and/or records related to a named individual. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, 552.111, 552.130, and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim.

Initially, we note you have submitted information that does not relate to the named individual. This information is not responsive to the instant request. The district attorney need not release non-responsive information in response to this request, and this ruling will not address the public availability of that 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 common-law right of 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). The types of information considered 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. This office has found that 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). Moreover, 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 district attorney to compile unspecified law enforcement records concerning the named individual. Therefore, to the extent the district attorney maintains any law enforcement records depicting the named individual as a suspect, arrestee, or criminal defendant, the district attorney must withhold such information under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining arguments against disclosure.

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,

Andrea L. Caldwell

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ALC/eeg

Ref: ID# 404795

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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