Randal Trapp v. Office of the District Attorney - Middlesex District (SPR 20171340)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 26, 2017 SPR17/1340 Randall F. Maas, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Office of the District Attorney -Middlesex County 15 Commonwealth A venue Woburn, MA 01801 Dear Attorney Maas: I have received the petition of Randall Trapp appealing the response of the Office of the District Attorney Middlesex County (DAO) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Trapp requested a copy of his own file regarding a criminal prosecution, Commonwealth v. Randall Trapp, Docket No. MICR1981-02948. In a July 25, 2017 response, the DAO denied the request for the file as Criminal Offender Records Information (CORI) and witness information under Exemptions (c) and (f). Additionally the DAO also informed Mr. Trapp that a complete copy of his file was previously provided to him during the discovery process. Status ofthe requester and reason for the request In his petition, Mr. Trapp states that he seeks his criminal prosecution file for a post: conviction judicial process that he would like to file with the court. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between individuals seeking public records. Mr. Trapp should be advised that his status as the criminal defendant who is the subject of the records offers him no greater right of access than any other person in the public realm. See G. L. c. 66, § 10 (a ) (public records are to be provided to "any person"); 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 ofthe requester. Appeal to the Supervisor Mr. Trapp should be advised that the appeal process under the Public Records Law shall not apply to records in which an individual, or a representative of the individual, has a unique 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

Randall Trapp SPR17/1340 Page 2 September 26, 2017 right of access to the records through statutory, regulatory, judicial or other applicable means. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(a). Whereas the records are regarding Mr. Trapp's criminal conviction and he has a unique right of access through the judicial process, accordingly I decline to continue any further review of his petition. Sincerely, ~a~ Supervisor of Records cc: Randall Trapp