July 12, 2012

Mr. Scott A. Durfee

Assistant General Counsel

Office of the District Attorney

Harris County

1201 Franklin, Suite 600

Houston, Texas 77002

OR2012-10792

Dear Mr. Durfee:

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# 458769.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office (the "district attorney's office") received a request for a specified prosecution file. You state you will release some of the requested information, including any court-filed documents. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.108 of the Government Code provides in relevant part:

(a) Information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime is excepted from [required public disclosure] if:

. . .

(4) it is information that:

(A) is prepared by an attorney representing the state in anticipation of or in the course of preparing for criminal litigation; or

(B) represents the mental impressions or legal reasoning of an attorney representing the state.

Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(4). 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). In Curry v. Walker, 873 S.W.2d 379 (Tex. 1994), the Texas Supreme Court held that a request for a district attorney's "entire litigation file" was "too broad" and, quoting National Union Fire Insurance Co. v. Valdez, 863 S.W.2d 458 (Tex. 1993, orig. proceeding), held that "the decision as to what to include in [the file] necessarily reveals the attorney's thought processes concerning the prosecution or defense of the case." Curry, 873 S.W.2d at 380. In this instance, the requestor seeks the district attorney's office's entire case file for a specified case. You state the requested information represents the mental impressions or legal reasoning of the attorney representing the state in this case. Based on your representations and our review, we conclude section 552.108(a)(4) of the Government Code is applicable to the submitted information.

However, 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). Basic information refers to the 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). Basic information must be released even if it does not literally appear on the front page of the offense report. See Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information made public by Houston Chronicle). Therefore, with the exception of basic information, the district attorney's office may withhold the submitted information under section 552.108(a)(4) of the Government Code and the court's ruling in Curry. ⁽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,

Vanessa Burgess

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

VB/dls

Ref: ID# 458769

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Because our ruling is dispositive, we do not address your remaining arguments against disclosure.

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