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Petit, Lauren v. Department of Correction - Legal Division (SPR 20150219)
Massachusetts Public Records Appeal · Agency won — exemption upheld · Filed 04-14-2015
ClosedAppealAgency Won
SPR 20150219 is a Massachusetts Public Records Law appeal filed by Petit, Lauren concerning records held by Department of Correction - Legal Division, opened 04-14-2015. Type: Appeal. Status: Closed. Supervisor of Public Records determination: Agency won — exemption upheld.
Case Details
- Case Number
- 20150219
- Case Type
- Appeal
- Case Subtype
- Initial
- Status
- Closed
- Requester
- Petit, Lauren
- Date Opened
- 04-14-2015
- Date Closed
- 05-28-2015
PDF Document
Extracted Text (searchable & copyable)
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 28, 2015 SPRlS/219 Mr. William Saltzman, Esq. Department of Correction 70 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Boston, MA 02110 Dear Attorney Saltzman: I have received the petition of Lauren Petit appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Correction (Department) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Petit requested records regarding the current statewide standard of care for pregnant and postpartum women in prison. Her request was dated February 24, 2015. The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4 ). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofthis order, to provide Ms. Petit with the requested records. If the Department maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (1 0) days provide to Ms. Petit a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption pplies to each record. '~. ervisor of Records cc: Ms. Lauren Petit One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma.us/pre