March 5, 2012

Ms. Kristen Hamilton

Assistant City Attorney

City of El Paso

2 Civic Center Plaza 9^th Floor

El Paso, Texas 79901

OR2012-03303

Dear Ms. Hamilton:

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# 451212.

The El Paso Police Department (the "department") received a request for information related to a specified case number. You claim most of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, 552.130, and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the information you submitted.

Section 552.108(a)(2) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . it is information that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation to an investigation that did not result in conviction or deferred adjudication[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(2). A governmental body must reasonably explain how and why section 552.108 is applicable to the information at issue. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You indicate the information the department seeks to withhold under section 552.108 pertains to a concluded case that did not result in a conviction or a deferred adjudication. Based on your representation, we conclude section 552.108(a)(2) is applicable in this instance.

We note section 552.108 does not except from disclosure "basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime." Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Section 552.108(c) refers to the basic front-page offense and arrest information held to be public in Houston Chronicle Publishing Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88; Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). Thus, as you state basic information has been released, we conclude the department may withhold the information that pertains to the concluded case under section 552.108(a)(2) of the Government Code.

You also generally contend section 552.101 of the Government Code is applicable in this instance. Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses common-law privacy, which protects information that is highly intimate or embarrassing, such that its release would be highly objectionable to a person of ordinary sensibilities, and of no legitimate public interest. See Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). Common-law privacy encompasses the specific types of information held to be intimate or embarrassing in Industrial Foundation. See id. at 683 (information relating to sexual assault, pregnancy, mental or physical abuse in workplace, illegitimate children, psychiatric treatment of mental disorders, attempted suicide, and injuries to sexual organs). This office has determined other types of information also are private under section 552.101. See generally Open Records Decision No. 659 at 4-5 (1999) (summarizing information attorney general has held to be private). As you have not demonstrated any of the remaining information at issue is highly intimate or embarrassing and not a matter of legitimate public interest, we conclude the department may not withhold any of the remaining information at issue under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure information related to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country. See Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). We agree the department must withhold the license plate and vehicle identification numbers you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾

Section 552.147 of the Government Code provides "[t]he social security number of a living person is excepted from" required public disclosure under the Act. ⁽²⁾ Id. § 552.147(a). We agree the department may withhold the social security number you have marked under section 552.147 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department (1) may withhold the information pertaining to the concluded case under section 552.108(a)(2) of the Government Code; (2) must withhold the marked license plate and vehicle identification numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code; and (3) may withhold the marked social security number under section 552.147 of the Government 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,

James W. Morris, III

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JWM/em

Ref: ID# 451212

Enc: Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009) is a previous determination issued by this office authorizing all governmental bodies to withhold ten categories of information without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision, including a Texas license plate number under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

2. We note section 552.147(b) authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act.

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