November 8, 2012

Ms. Cherl K. Byles

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, 3^rd Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2012-17957

Dear Ms. Byles:

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# 472615 (PIR W020061).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for (1) any and all reports, 9-1-1 call history, officer notes, 9-1-1 recordings, investigative notes, and correspondence for each occurrence the police have been called out to the requestor's residence during a specified time period and (2) a copy of the report the requestor made on a specified date. You state the city is releasing some information to the requestor. You claim some of 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.

Initially, you inform us some of the submitted information may have been the subject of a previous request for information, as a result of which this office issued Open Records Letter No. 2012-10083 (2012). As we are unaware of any change in the relevant law, facts, and circumstances on which the previous ruling was based, then to the extent the submitted information is identical to the information submitted in that ruling, we conclude the department may rely on Open Records Letter No. 2012-10083 as a previous determination and withhold or release the identical information in accordance with that ruling. See Open Records Decision No. 673 at 6-7 (2001) (so long as law, facts, and circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure). To the extent the submitted information is not encompassed by the prior ruling, we consider whether any of it is excepted from public disclosure under the Act.

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. Section 552.101 encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that is (1) highly intimate or embarrassing, such that its release would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) not of legitimate concern to the public. See Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668 (Tex. 1976). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be satisfied. See id. at 681-82. The types of information considered intimate and embarrassing by the Texas Supreme Court in Industrial Foundation included information relating to sexual assault, pregnancy, mental or physical abuse in the workplace, illegitimate children, psychiatric treatment of mental disorders, attempted suicide, and injuries to sexual organs. See id. at 683. Upon review, we find the information you have marked, as well as the additional information we have marked, is highly intimate or embarrassing and not of legitimate public interest. Accordingly, the city must withhold the marked information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

Section 552.108(a)(1) 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 . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). 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), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state, and provide documentation demonstrating, that the remaining information you have marked and indicated relates to a pending criminal prosecution with the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office. Based on your representation and our review, we conclude that release of the information at issue 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). Thus, section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable to the remaining information you have marked and indicated.

However, 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 information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88; see also Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). Accordingly, with the exception of basic information, the city may withhold the remaining information you have marked and indicated under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

In summary, the city must withhold the information you and we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. With the exception of basic information, the city may withhold the remaining information you have marked and indicated under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The city must release the remaining 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,

Sean Nottingham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SN/bhf

Ref: ID# 472615

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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