March 19, 2012

Ms. Danise Jordan

Open Records

Willamson County Sheriff's Office

508 South Rock Street

Georgetown, Texas 78626

OR2012-04014

Dear Ms. Jordan:

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# 448288.

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office (the "sheriff's office") received a request for all incident reports, offense reports, or arrest reports filed during a specified time period and involving either of two named individuals. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information if (1) the information contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person and (2) the information is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 931 (1977). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be satisfied. Id. at 681-82. This office has found 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. United States Dep't of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749, 764 (1989) (when considering prong regarding individual's privacy interest, court recognized distinction between public records found in courthouse files and local police stations and compiled summary of information and noted that individual has significant privacy interest in compilation of one's criminal history). Furthermore, we find a compilation of a private citizen's criminal history is generally not of legitimate concern to the public.

In this instance, the submitted information pertains to family violence involving the requestor's client. After reviewing the request and the submitted information, we believe the requestor is seeking family violence reports involving himself and the named individuals. Accordingly we conclude the request does not implicate privacy. Therefore, no portion of the submitted information may be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy as a compilation of an individual's criminal history.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license, driver's license, motor vehicle title, or registration issued by an agency of this state or an agency of another state or country is excepted from public release. Gov't Code § 552.130. Upon review, we find portions of the submitted information consist of motor vehicle record information. Accordingly, the sheriff's office must withhold the motor vehicle record information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the sheriff's office must withhold the motor vehicle information you have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. As you raise no further exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information must be released to this requestor. ⁽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,

Jonathan Miles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JM/em

Ref: ID# 448288

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note the information to be released contains social security numbers. 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 a decision from this office under the Act. Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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