Nanette Jerige v. Orleans, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20160748)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 5, 2016 SPR16/748 Ms. Greta Montgomery Town of Orleans Police Department 90 South Orleans Road Orleans, MA 02653-3307 Dear Ms. Montgomery: I have received the petition ofNanette Jerige appealing the response of the Town of Orleans (Town)-Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Jerige requested a copy of a record concerning an incident in February 2016 regarding illegal drug use at a specifically-named address in the Town. The Department provided the only record in its custody, a dispatch report, redacting certain information from the report pursuant to Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26) (c). Other than citing the exemption the Department provided no information to support the application of the exemption. Ms. Jerige appealed. Status ofthe Requester and Reason for the Request In her petition letter, Ms. Jerige explained that she is a landlord and has requested the report to support the judicial eviction process that she filed against another tenant living at the address listed on the report. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requesters. The right of requesters to inspect and obtain copies of public records is a clear statutory mandate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record, regardless of the circumstances of the requester. The Public Records Law 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). One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Greta Montgomery SPR16/748 Page2 October 5, 2016 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). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. Subsequent Response by Department In a letter dated September 28, 2016 you provided additional information to support your claim with respect to the redactions. Whereas this appeal was opened due to the lack of specificity in the original response, and further whereas the September 28 response provides additional information to support the exemption claim, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Ms. Jerige may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). cc: Ms. Nanette Jerige