October 31, 2011

Mr. Ronald J. Bounds

Assistant City Attorney

City of Corpus Christi

P.O. Box 9277

Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277

OR2011-15934

Dear Mr. Bounds:

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# 439074.

The City of Corpus Christi (the "city") received a request for information pertaining to two specified incidents. You state the city redacted a Texas license plate number under section 552.130 of the Government Code pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). You state the city is providing some of the requested information to the requestor, but claim some of 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 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 to privacy, which protects information that is (1) highly intimate or embarrassing, such that its release would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) not of legitimate concern to the public. See Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be established. See id. at 681-82. Determinations under common-law privacy must be made on a case-by-case basis. See Open Records Decision No. 373 at 4 (1983); Indus. Found., 540 S.W.2d at 685 (whether matter is of legitimate interest to public can be considered only in context of each particular case). The types of information considered intimate or embarrassing by the Texas Supreme Court in Industrial Foundation included 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. See 540 S.W.2d at 683.

In this instance, you seek to withhold some of the submitted information under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. However, we find there is a legitimate public interest in the information at issue, as it pertains to the details of a criminal investigation and the conclusions reached in such investigation. See Open Records Decision No. 400 at 4 (1983). See generally Lowe v. Hearst Communications, Inc., 487 F.3d 246, 250 (5th Cir. 2007) (noting a "legitimate public interest in facts tending to support an allegation of criminal activity" (citing Cinel v. Connick, 15 F.3d 1338, 1345-46 (1994)), Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177, 186 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (public's legitimate interest in community affairs is particularly sensitive and important as applied to police activity). Thus, none of the submitted information may be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. As you raise no other exceptions to disclosure, 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,

Paige Lay

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

PL/ag

Ref: ID# 439074

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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