Minkina, MD, Nataly v. Office of the Bar Counsel (SPR 20150312)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords June 26,2015 SPRlS/312 Ms. Constance V. Vecchione, Esq. Office ofthe Bar Counsel Board of Bar Overseers 99 High Street Boston, MA 02110 Dear Attorney Vecchione: I have received the petition of Dr. Nataly Minkina appealing the response of the Office of the Bar Counsel (OBC) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Dr. Minkina requested a copy of two Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) files as well as any records in the OBC's possession concerning her. In your written response dated March 20, 2015, you provided certain responsive documents but denied Dr. Minkina's request, in part, claiming that the BBO is not subject to the Public Records Law. In your written response dated March 20, 2015, you state that" ... as part of the judicial branch of government, the Board of Bar Overseers is not subject to either the (Massachusetts) Public Records Act or FOIA." The BBO and OCB were established under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 4:01. You cite the case Kettenbach v. Board of Bar Overseers, 448 Mass. 1019 (2007) in support of your position. The issue in Kettenbach was whether the BBO and the OBC, which are within the judicial branch, are subject to the Public Records Law. Id. at 1020. The Kettenbach Court stated that" ... the public records law applies to only one of the three branches of State government, namely, the Executive branch." Id. at 1021; see also Lambert v. Exec. Dir. of the Judicial Nominating Council, 425 Mass. 406,409 (1997) (holding that the Massachusetts Judiciary is not expressly included in the Public Records Law). As a result, the Kettenbach Court found that the BBO and the OBC are not subject to the Public Records Law. See id. at 1020-21. Dr. Minkina has indicated her belief that she has a right of access due to her status as a complainant. Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requesters. Access to a record requested pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Constance V. Vecchione, Esq. SPR15/312 Page Two June 26, 2015 record and not the circumstances of the requester. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). In any event, Dr. Minkina's statements have no bearing on this matter as her status does not grant her any greater right of access under the Public Records Law. Whereas the OBC has properly claimed that the BBO is not subject to the Public Records Law, I find that the OBC properly denied Dr. Minkina's request for records under the Public Records Law, as the law does not apply to records of the OBC or BBO. This administrative appeal is now closed. Supervisor of Records cc: Dr. Nataly Minkina