Chris Smith v. Office of the District Attorney - Berkshire District (SPR 20180623)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 10, 2018 SPR18/623 Joseph A. Pieropan, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Records Access Officer P.O. Box 1969- North Street Pittsfield, MA O1 202-1969 Dear Attorney Pieropan: I have received your petition on behalf of the Office of the Berkshire District Attorney (Office) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of the requested public record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Office provided a copy of the petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). In a request received by the Office on May 1, 2018, Chris Smith of Red Group Analytics requested "copies of all reasonable incoming-and-outgoing electronic correspondence of Paul Caccaviello for the duration of his tenure in the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office." 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. 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

Office of the Berkshire District Attorney Page2 May 10, 2018 G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). 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 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In a petition dated May 3, 2018 the Office is seeking an extension of twenty business days to comply with Red Group Analytics' request. In your petition you state, "District Attorney Caccaviello has served as a prosecutor in this Office since 1989, thereby making a reply to these requests impracticable within 10 business days." You then write, "[i]n addition to searching this Office's records, I have contacted the Comptroller's Office, the official keeper of records for certain financial transactions, and inquired which parts of Red Group's request should be directed to that agency." You further expressed that "portions of the information sought are not in this Office's public record, but that of the Ethics Commission." Conclusion I find that in light of the volume of responsive records and the efforts undertaken by the Office in fulfilling the requests, the Office has established good cause to permit an extension of time. I hereby grant the Office an extension of a total of twenty (20) business days from the date of this determination to furnish copies ofrecords responsive to Mr. Smith's request. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(e). The Office is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. To the extent possible, the Office must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Mr. Smith may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under G. L. c. 66 § 1O A( c ).

Office of the Berkshire District Attorney Page 3 May 10, 2018 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Chris Smith