William Nadworny v. Massachusetts Parole Board (SPR 20180248)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 12,201 8 SPR181248 Stacy Book Records Access Officer Massachusetts Parole Board 12 Mercer Road Natick MA 0 1760 Dear Ms. Book: I have received the petition from William J. Nadworny appealing the response from the Massachusetts Parole Board (Board) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Nadworny is requesting "an investigation concerning testimony missing on a Parole Board Public Hearing Record DVD." Mr. Nadworny points to several portions of testimony missing from the DVD as the basis of his appeal. Appeal Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10(b) (iii). 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, 5 10(b)(iv) (written response must "identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based.. ."); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 51 1 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). One Ashburton Place, Room 171 9, Boston, Massachusetts 021 08 (61 7) 727-2832. Fax: (617 ) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Ms. Stacy Book Pg. 2 March 12,2018 It is unclear whether there are additional records responsive to this request. If the Board is withholding portions of the requested testimony it must identify the withheld information, cite an exemption as the basis of the withholding and explain why the exemption applies. See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(iv). Conclusion Accordingly, the Board is ordered to review the requests made by Mr. Nadworny and provide a response to Mr. Nadworny, made in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. If unresolved issues remain, Mr. Nadworny may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: William J. Nadworny