Theodore Watkins v. Office of the District Attorney - Middlesex District (SPR 20170493)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 19, 2017 SPR17/493 Emily Walsh, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Office of the District Attorney - Middlesex District 15 Commonwealth A venue Woburn, MA 01801 Dear Attorney Walsh: I have received your petition on behalf of the Office of the District Attorney - Middlesex District (DAO) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies ofrequested records, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the DAO provided a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). Theodore Watkins requested all materials related to a specific murder conviction. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). 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

Emily Walsh, Esq. Page 2 April 19, 2017 If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In your petition dated April 12, 2017, you indicate the DAO is requesting "an additional 20 business days to comply with a public records request from Theodore Watkins." The DAO received the request on March 29, 2017. You indicate "the ADA in charge of handling records requests in homicide cases is currently unavailable, working on a homicide trial in progress, expected to continue through the month of April." The DAO further explains it needs more than fifteen business days to produce the records "because of the volume ofrecords (over 500 pages), the time needed to redact the records, and the need for the head of homicide (who is currently trying a homicide case) to review our response to the request." Conclusion I find that in light of the volume of responsive records and the capacity of the DAO to produce records without an extension, the DAO has established good cause to permit an extension o{time. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the DAO an extension of twenty business days from the date of this determination to furnish copies of responsive records or any portion thereof. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(e). · The DAO is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Mr. Watkins may appeal the substantive nature of the DAO's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Watkins may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under G. L. c. 66 § lOA(c). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Theodore Watkins