February 15, 2012

Ms. Lillian Guillen Graham

Assistant City Attorney

City of Mesquite

P.O. Box 850137

Mesquite, Texas 75185-0137

OR2012-02399

Dear Ms. Graham:

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# 447066.

The Mesquite Police Department (the "department") received a request for a copy of a report related to a specified incident. You state the department will redact the information you have marked as permitted by sections 552.130 ⁽¹⁾ and 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ You claim that 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. This section 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); Hawthorne v. State, 10 S.W.2d 724, 725 (Tex. Crim. App. 1928). The privilege protects from disclosure the identities of persons who report activities over which the governmental body has criminal or quasi-criminal law enforcement authority, provided 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. You state the information you have marked identifies an individual who reported a possible violation of the law to the department, which has the authority to enforce criminal law. However, the submitted information indicates the subject of the complaint knows the identity of the reporting party. Thus, we conclude the department may not withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 in conjunction with the common-law informer's privilege. As you raise no further 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,

Charles Galindo Jr.

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CG/som

Ref: ID# 447066

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.130(c) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact from the requested information it discloses, without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office, a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state, or another state or country. See Gov't Code § 552.130(c); see id.§§ 552.130(d)) (entitling requestor to appeal governmental body's decision to withhold information pursuant to section 552.130(c) to attorney general); .130(e) (requiring governmental body that withholds information pursuant to section 552.130(c) to provide notice to requestor).

2. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision under the Act. See Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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