April 9, 2012

Ms. Myrna Reingold

Galveston County Legal Department

County Courthouse

722 Moody, 5th Floor

Galveston, TX 77550-2317

OR2012-05013

Dear Ms. Reingold:

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# 451134.

The Galveston County District Attorney's Office (the "district attorney's office") received a request for information pertaining to a specified investigation. You state you have released some of the requested information. You also state you have withheld driver's license numbers pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.107, 552.108, 552.111, 552.132, 552.1325, and 552.137 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

You assert the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. Section 552.108(a)(1) excepts from disclosure information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime if release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), 552.301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) relates to a pending criminal investigation. Based on this representation, we conclude the release of this information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Therefore, the district attorney's office may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

Section 552.108(a)(2) excepts from disclosure information concerning an investigation that concluded in a result other than conviction or deferred adjudication. A governmental body claiming section 552.108(a)(2) must demonstrate the requested information relates to a criminal investigation that has concluded in a final result other than a conviction or deferred adjudication. You assert the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(2) pertains to a case that concluded in a result other than conviction or deferred adjudication. Therefore, the district attorney's office may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(2) of the Government Code.

To conclude, the district attorney's office may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The district attorney's office may also withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(2) of the Government Code. As our ruling is dispositive, we do not address your other arguments to withhold the submitted information.

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 L. Coggeshall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JLC/ag

Ref: ID# 451134

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Open Records Decision No. 684 is a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information, including Texas driver's license numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision. However, on September 1, 2011, the Texas legislature amended section 552.130 to allow a governmental body to redact the information described in subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3) without the necessity of seeking a decision from the attorney general. See Gov't Code § 552.130(c). If a governmental body redacts such information, it must notify the requestor in accordance with section 552.130(e). See id. § 552.130(d), (e). Thus, the statutory amendments to section 552.130 of the Government Code supercede Open Records Decision No. 684 on September 1, 2011. Therefore, a governmental body may only redact information subject to subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3) in accordance with section 552.130, not Open Records Decision No. 684.

2. Although you also raise section 552.103 of the Government Code, you have submitted no arguments in support of your assertion of that exception. Accordingly, this decision does not address section 552.103. See Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A) (governmental body must submit written comments stating why claimed exceptions would allow information at issue to be withheld). In addition, although you raise section 552.101 in conjunction with the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work-product privilege, this office has concluded section 552.101 does not encompass discovery privileges. Open Records Decision Nos. 676 at 1-2 (2002), 575 at 2 (1990) (predecessor statute).

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer