John D. Rousseau v. Executive Office of Public Safety and Security - Department of State Police (SPR 20160775)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 13, 2016 SPR16/775 Legal Department Department of State Police Office of the Chief Legal Counsel 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Legal Department: I have received the petition of John D. Rousseau, Jr. appealing the response of the Department of Correction Legal Division (Division) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Rousseau requested a copy of any records related to an incident that occurred in the Town of Rutland around July 9, 2007. In your April 26, 2016 response you informed Mr. Rousseau that that the Department located a report potentially responsive to his request which it is withholding pursuant to the Criminal Record Offender Information Statute (CORI). See G.L. c. 6, § 167; G. L. c. 4 § 7 (26)(a). Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) CORI, which is statutorily exempt from disclosure, is defined as: [A] ny records and data in any communicable form compiled by a criminal justice agency which concern an identifiable individual and relate to the nature or disposition of a criminal charge, an arrest, a pre-trial proceeding, or other judicial proceedings, sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation, or release. G. L. c. 6, § 167 Please note that the personal status any person provides no 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 record and not the circumstances of the requester. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Legal Department - Department of State Police SPR16/775 Page2 October 13, 2016 While Mr. Rousseau's status provides no greater right of access, it is clear from reading his request that he is aware of the identity of a person or persons identified in the responsive record. Ordinarily a records custodian could provide a redacted record omitting any portion of the record that identified a person subject to the above-cited section of the CORI statute. In this instance, however as Mr. Rousseau is aware of the identity of a person or persons identified in the withheld report such redaction is not possible. Accordingly, I find the Department acted properly in withholding the responsive document in its entirety. Some statutes and regulations permit requesters to obtain records in a manner that does not require a request under the Public Records Law. It is recommended that Mr. Rousseau contact the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) as this is the department tasked with interpreting the CORI Act. 1 cc: Mr. John Rousseau