Duarte, Peter v. Old Colony Correctional Center (SPR 20140172)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords September 10, 2014 SPR14/172 Ms. Mary Eiro-Bartevyan, Esq. Department of Correction 70 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Boston, MA 02110-1327 Dear Attorney Eiro-Bartevyan: This office has received the petition of Peter Duarte appealing the response of the Department of Correction (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Duarte requested a copy of an occupancy permit issued to the Old Colony Correctional Center. Subsequent to opening an administrative appeal in March 2014, and due to the intervention of members of my staff this request was brought to your attention in May 2014. In response, you provided a letter to Mr. Duarte dated May 29, 2014, in which you explained that the Department has no records responsive to his request. There is a presumption that all government employees perform their duties in an honest and impartial manner. LaPointe v. License Bd. of Worcester, 389 Mass. 454, 459 (1983) see also Konover Mgt. Corp v. Planning Bd. of Auburn, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 319, 326 (1992). Furthermore, it is the duty of a record custodian to use his superior knowledge of the records to assist a requester in obtaining the records. See 950 C.M.R. 32.05(4). I accept that you understood Mr. Duarte's request and responded to it with the best of your knowledge. This office is unable to issue a determination on an appeal of a public record request where no responsive record exists. Accordingly, this administrative appeal is now closed. cc: Mr. Peter Duarte OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre