Robert W. Anderson, Jr. v. Department of Correction - MCI Shirley (SPR 20191060)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords June 5, 2019 SPR19/1060 Elizabeth Kingman Records Manager Department of Correction - MCI Shirley P.O. Box 1218 Shirley, MA 01464 Dear Ms. Kingman: I have received the petition of Robert W. Anderson, Jr. appealing the response of the Department of Correction - MCI Shirley (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on April 10, 2019, Mr. Anderson requested the following categories ofrecords: a) The First Name of Correctional Officer Cobb of the C-2 Unit; b) Any and all organization contacted by the Office of the Superintendent, or its designee, from March 2018 to the present in accordance with 103 CMR 471.08 regarding obtaining a Clergy for the Asatru religion; c) Any and all organization contacted by the Office of the Superintendent, or its designee, from march 2018 to the present in accordance with 103 CMR 485. 07 (3)(a) regarding obtaining a Volunteer for the Asatru Group/Religion; d) A Listing of any and all purchases made concerning the Asatru Religious/Study group for the period of March 2018 to the present; e) The Superintendent's Designee, if any, for issues related to both 103 CMR 471.08 and CMR 485.07 (3)(a) for the period of March 2018 up unto the present; f) The name and credentials of any consultant used by the facility about issues related to the Asatru faith, its practices, its Rites and with regard to conditions required for the practice of Asatru Rites; g) Any and all e-mails associated with any of the records requested here. Although the Department provided Mr. Anderson with a response dated April 23, 2019, he contends this response relates to a separate public records request for different records. In its April 23rd response, the Department states that Mr. Anderson's "request seeks the following records: copies of the following CMR/DOC policies, Religious handbook, 103 CMR 471, 103 CMR 485 and 103 DOC 522." The Department indicates it provided Mr. Anderson with "a copy 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

Elizabeth Kingman SPR19/1060 Page 2 June 5, 2019 of the Religious Handbook, 103 CMR 485, and 103 CMR 471." The Department indicates it is denying Mr. Anderson's "103 DOC 522" request "under the security ("n") exemption in M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, cl. 26(n). Information regarding the policy and procedures of the Internal Affairs Unit should not be given to for security reasons." Based on the language of Mr. Anderson's request in conjunction with the Department's response, it would appear the Department has not addressed all the portions of Mr. Anderson's request in its April 23rd 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 ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii) (written response must "identify any public records or categories of public records sought that are within the possession, custody, or control of the agency"). Accordingly, the Department must provide another response addressing each portion of Mr. Anderson's request. Order Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Anderson with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations 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. Sincerely, ~ i l l ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Robert W. Anderson, Jr.