Karina Wilkinson v. Middlesex Sheriff's Office (SPR 20160543)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords August 10, 2016 SPR16/543 Ms. LaDonna Hatton, Esq. Chief Legal Counsel Office of the Middlesex Sheriff 400 Mystic Avenue Medford, MA 0215 5 Dear Attorney Hatton: I have received the petition of Karina Wilkinson of the Massachusetts Trust Act Coalition appealing the nomesponse of the Office of the Middlesex Sheriff (Sheriff's Office) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Wilkinson requested seven (7) categories of records, in electronic format, regarding immigration detainers and notification requests. Ms. Wilkinson originally made her request on October 26, 2015 and informed this office that the Sheriffs Office sent an acknowledgment letter; however after following up with the Sheriffs Office in January, February and Apri12016, Ms. Wilkinson has neither received records nor a detailed, written response. To assist the Sheriffs Office is responding to the request, an attorney on my staff telephoned and provided a copy of the appeal file via email on July 29, 2016. The Sheriffs Office was sent an acknowledgment letter on July 25,2016 to notify your office that an appeal was opened for Ms. Wilkinson. Requirement of timely responding to public records requests 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. To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. LaDonna Hatton, Esq. SPR16/543 Page 2 August 10, 2016 conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Conclusion Subsequent to the intervention by a member of my staff, this office was notified that a revised response was provided. A copy of this response was provided to this office. Whereas this matter was opened based upon the Sheriff's Office's failure to provide a proper written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Ms. Wilkinson may appeal the substantive nature of the Sheriff's Office response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Karina Wilkinson