Angel L. Pagan v. Office of the District Attorney - Hampden District (SPR 20170389)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 4, 2017 SPR17/389 Maida H. Wassermann, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Office of the Hampden District Attorney Hall of Justice 50 State Street Springfield, MA 01102-0559 Dear Attorney Wassermann: I have received the petition of Angel L. Pagan appealing the response of the Office of the Hampden District Attorney (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Pagan requested several categories ofrecords related to his own criminal trial. 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, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(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, § 1O (b )(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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. Purpose of request In his petition, it appears that Mr. Pagan is requesting access to his own records. 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 One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Maida H. Wassermann, Esq. SPRl 7/389 Page 2 April 4, 201 7 public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record 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). Accordingly, Mr. Pagan's purpose in making the request has no bearing on the public status of any existing responsive records. It should be noted that the discovery process and the Public Records Law are two distinct and independent avenues for gaining access to records. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that while a party's access to records may be limited by the Public Records Law, this may not preclude obtaining the records through discovery. Commonwealth v. Wanis, 426 Mass. 639 (1998); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(a) (the administrative appeal process "shall not apply to records in which an individual, or a representative of the individual, has a unique right of access to the record through statutory, regulatory, judicial or other applicable means"). In addition, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may deny an appeal if the public records in question are the subject of disputes in active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation. 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b ). As such, Mr. Pagan may wish to consider another means of seeking to obtain any existing responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, whereas Mr. Pagan is the subject of the requested records and has a unique right of access through the judicial process, I decline to opine on this matter. Sincerely, ~~/ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Angel L. Pagan