Jose Correia v. Department of Correction - MCI Concord (SPR 20171755)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords January 10, 2018 SPR17/1755 Jeanine Roth Records Manager Department of Correction - MCI Concord 965 Elm Street P.O. Box 9106 Concord, MA 01742 Dear Ms. Roth: I have received the petition of Jose Correia appealing the response of the Department of Correction - MCI Concord (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Correia requested a copy of a video recording involving an incident concerning several inmates at the MCI Concord correctional facility. The Department offered Mr. Correia an opportunity to view the recording at the time of his disciplinary hearing and also offered to provide Mr. Correia with a copy of the photographs from the incident. The Department explained that under the Department's regulations concerning disciplinary matters, that he had a right to access the records responsive under 103 C.M.R. 430.11. Unsatisfied with the Department's response, Mr. Correia petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. Prior appeal The requested record was the subject of a prior appeal. See SPRl 7 /1521 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) (October 26, 2017). I closed SPRl 7/ 1521 with the understanding that the Department would provide Mr. Correia with a supplemental response to address his concerns regarding the video footage. The Department provided the supplemental response on November 6t\ and Mr. Correia appealed this response. The Department's November 61 response h In its November 6th response, the Department explained that under the Department's Inmate Discipline policy, Mr. Correia had a right to review the video footage at the time of the disciplinary hearing. In addition, the Department informed Mr. Correia that his attorney had a right to request the record under the same policy. See 103 C.M.R. 430. The Department's 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

Jeanine Roth SPRl 7/1755 Page2 January 10, 2018 response states that Mr. Correia was previously advised that a copy of the full disciplinary package which contains redacted photos of the incident are available to him if he submits a signed form entitled, "Request to Inspect and/or copy Criminal Offender Record Information." The Department's policy regarding inmate discipline also contains a provision for obtaining the information. See 103 C.M.R. 403.11(1) (Proceedings in Formal Disciplinary Matters: Notice and Scheduling of Hearing Before a Hearing Officer). This regulation, 103 C.M.R. 403.11(1), states: Within two business days of the Disciplinary Officer or a designee assigning offenses to the disciplinary report, a copy of the disciplinary report, a notice of hearing, a request for representation/witness form and a request for evidence form, shall be served upon the inmate by the Disciplinary Officer or a designee. Automatic discovery shall ordinarily be served on the inmate at this time, but not less than 48 hours before the hearing. Automatic discovery includes: (a) Copies of incident reports concerning the incident alleged to have occurred in the disciplinary report; (b) Copies of, or access to, all exculpatory evidence; (c) Copies of, or access to, all documentary, photographic, audio, or videographic evidence referred to in the disciplinary report or which the Disciplinary Officer intends to introduce at the hearing ... 103 C.M.R. 430.1 l(l)(a-c). Appeal process It should be noted that the administrative process under the Public Records Law "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." See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(l)(a). Conclusion Accordingly, whereas Mr. Correia has a unique right of access through statutory, judicial or other applicable means, I decline to continue any further review of Mr. Correia's petition. This appeal is closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jose Correia