John Anderson v. Hampden County District Attorney's Office (SPR 20170887)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 12, 2017 SPR17/887 Maida H. Wassermann Office of the District Attorney - Hampden District Hall of Justice 50 State Street Springfield, MA 011 02 Dear Ms. Wassermann: I have received the petition of John Anderson appealing the response of the Office of the District Attorney Hampden District (DAO) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Anderson requested correspondence related to communication between himself and an identified individual. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR17/ 519 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 24, 20 17). I closed SPR17 /519 with the proviso that the DAO provide Mr. Anderson with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. Unsatisfied with the response he received, Mr. Anderson petitioned this office and SPR17/887 was opened as a result. Conclusion In a thorough review of Mr. Anderson's appeal petition to this office, it is unclear what the basis of Mr. Anderson's appeal is. Under the Public Records Law, "requests for records shall include a reasonable description of the requested record to the records access officer so that he or she can identify and locate it promptly." G.L. c. 66, § lO(a)(i); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(b). To assist Mr. Anderson in requesting public records in the future, I refer him to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Additionally, Public Records Division attorneys are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. 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 SPR17/887 Page 2 July 12, 2017 Please feel free to re-submit your appeal when you have specifically described the nature of your objections. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. John Anderson