Seth Kershner v. Suffolk County Sheriff's Department (SPR 20190969)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 17, 2019 SPR19/969 Maria F. Romero, Esq. Assistant General Counsel Suffolk County Sherriff s Department 200 Nashua Street Boston, MA 02114 Dear Attorney Romero: I have received your petition on behalf of the Suffolk County Sherriff's Department (Department) 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 Department provided a copy of the petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). In a request received by the Department on August 3, 2018, Mr. Kershner requested photographs and video recordings of "use of force" incidents occurring on identified dates. A representative from the Department contacted this office on May 16, 2019 requesting an extention of time to respond to Mr. Kershner's request. 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

Maria F. Romero, Esq. SPR19/969 Page2 May17, 2019 G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4 )(b ). Current petition In the Department's petition dated May 16, 2019, you indicate that the "Department has experienced the loss of legal counsel" thus, the "litigation schedule signifigantly increased." The Department requested an extension until June 7, 2019. A staff member of the Public Records Division contacted Mr. Kershner on May 17, 2019 to ascertain whether or not he would be agreeable to the aforementioned deadline. Mr. Kershner agreed to the identified date. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide a response to Mr. Kershner's request no later than June 7, 2019. The requestor 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: Seth Kershner