March 25, 2011

Mr. Robert E. Hager

Nichols, Jackson, Dillard, Hager & Smith, LLP

1800 Lincoln Plaza

500 North Akard Street

Dallas, Texas 75201

OR2011-04216

Dear Mr. Hager:

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# 412675 (Ref. # 47334).

The City of Rowlett (the "city"), which you represent, received a request for the police report related to a specified December 15, 2010 incident and two specified trespassing warnings issued to the requestor. You state the city has released some information to the requestor, including the requested warnings. 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 of the Government Code excepts "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses information protected by the common-law informer's privilege, which has long been recognized by Texas courts. See Aguilar v. State, 444 S.W.2d 935, 937 (Tex. Crim. App. 1969). It protects from disclosure the identities of persons who report activities over which the governmental body has criminal or quasi-criminal law-enforcement authority, provided that the subject of the information does not already know the informer's identity. Open Records Decision Nos. 515 at 3 (1988), 208 at 1-2 (1978). The informer's privilege protects the identities of individuals who report violations of statutes to the police or similar law-enforcement agencies, as well as those who report violations of statutes with civil or criminal penalties to "administrative officials having a duty of inspection or of law enforcement within their particular spheres." Open Records Decision No. 279 at 2 (1981) (citing 8 John H. Wigmore, Evidence in Trials at Common Law, § 2374, at 767 (J. McNaughton rev. ed. 1961)). The report must be of a violation of a criminal or civil statute. See Open Records Decision Nos. 582 at 2 (1990), 515 at 4-5. However, individuals who provide information in the course of an investigation but do not make the initial report of the violation are not informants for the purposes of claiming the informer's privilege. The privilege excepts the informer's statement only to the extent necessary to protect that informer's identity. Open Records Decision No. 549 at 5 (1990).

You state the submitted information identifies a complainant who reported possible violations of the law to the city's police department, which is charged with enforcement of the alleged violation at issue. We understand the reported violation is a criminal offense. The submitted information does not indicate the individual accused of the violation knows the identity of the complainant. Upon review, therefore, we have marked the identifying information of the individual who reported the violations to the city's police department. The city may withhold this marked information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with the common-law informer's privilege. As you raise no other exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information must be released. ⁽¹⁾

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,

Bob Davis

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

RSD/tf

Ref: ID# 412675

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note some information being released in this instance may be confidential with respect to the general public. Thus, if the city receives another request for this information from a different requestor, the city must again seek a ruling from this office.

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