Skandha, Bodhisattva v. Department of Corrections - Central Headquarters (SPR 20140150)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 2, 2014 SPR14/150 Richard McFarland, Esq. Department of Correction-Central Headquarters 50 Maple Street, Suite 3 Milford, MA 01757 Dear Attorney McFarland: I have received the petition of Bodhisattva Skandha appealing the response of the Department of Correction (DOC) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b) ; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Skandha requested copies of records regarding DOC legal department employees. As of the date of this Determination, and despite attempts at intervention from members of my staff Mr. Skandha has not received a response from the DOC. Every governmental entity shall maintain procedures that will allow access to public records in its custody at reasonable times and without unreasonable delay to all persons requesting public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.05(2). Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. The DOC is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The Public Records Law states that "the burden shall be upon the custodian to prove with specificity the exemption which applies." G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) (emphasis added). See also Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995). Accordingly, the DOC is advised that to comply with the Public Records Law and Regulations it must provide specificity with respect to any denial of access to public records. This requires a records custodian to not only cite an exemption, but to specifically explain the applicability of the exemption to the requested records. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. Richard McFarland, Esq. SPR14/150 Page Two May 2, 2014 Accordingly, the DOC is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order, to provide Mr. Skandha with the requested records, or provide to this office, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. If the DOC is planning to charge for the cost of complying with this public records request, Mr. Skandha must be provided with a detailed written, good faith estimate on each particular request. Once the DOC receives the estimate funds, the records must be provided. Failure to comply with this administrative order may result in the filing of a complaint for enforcement in the Superior Court by Mr. Skandha. /l)t ly ~wn Supervisor ofRecords cc: Mr. Bodhisattva Skandha Mr. Luis Spencer