Amy L. Codagnone, Esq. v. Springfield, City of - Police Department (SPR 20192007)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 16, 2019 SPR19/2007 Andrea L. Stone Public Records Coordinator City of Springfield- City Clerk's Office 36 Court St., Room 123 Springfield, MA O1 103 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received a petition from Amy Codagnone, Esq. appealing the denial of the City of Springfield City Clerk's Office (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Attorney Codagnone requested "police reports, ballistics reports, crime laboratory receipts, reports, and chain of custody documentation, including notes, referencing [Attorney Codagnone's] client." The City provided a response on September 25, 2019 to Attorney Codagnone which she appealed to this office on October 1, 2019. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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, § lO(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) ( custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(iv). If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Ms. Andrea L. Stone SPR19/2007 Page 2 October 16, 2019 Exemption (a) Exemption (a), known as the statutory exemption, permits the withholding ofrecords that are: specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(a). A governmental entity may use the statutory exemption as a basis for withholding requested materials where the language of the exempting statute relied upon expressly or necessarily implies that the public's right to inspect records under the Public Records Law is restricted. See Attorney Gen. v. Collector of Lynn, 377 Mass. 151, 54 (1979); Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. v. Appeals Court, 372 Mass. 539, 545-46 (1977). The City cites the Criminal Offender Record Information: (CORI) Act for the reasoning behind withholding the requested records. The City explained to At{orney Codagnone in the response that the documents fall under the CORI Act when a "criminal investigation is sufficiently complete that the investigating officers take actions toward bringing a specific suspect to court." The City asserts that Attorney Codagnone requested documents that were "made or received as a result of an arrest and criminal proceedings against named individuals" which would be protected as CORI. See G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(a). The City has cited the CORI Act as applicable to withhold responsive records. CORI is defined as: [R]ecords and data in any communicable form compiled by a Massachusetts criminal justice agency which concern an identifiable individual and relate to the nature or disposition of a criminal charge, an arrest, a pre-trial proceeding, other judicial proceedings, previous hearings conducted pursuant to section 58A of chapter 276 where the defendant was detained prior to trial or released with conditions under subsection (2) of section 58A of chapter 276, sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation, or release. Such 1nformation shall be restricted to information recorded in criminal proceedings that are not dismissed before arraignment. Criminal offender record information shall not include evaluative information, statistical and analytical reports and files in which individuals are not directly or indirectly identifiable, or intelligence information ... Criminal offender record information shall not include information concerning any offenses which are not punishable by incarceration G. L. c. 6, § 167. It is unclear how the withheld records are exempt under the CORI Act; specifically, it is uncertain how all of these records contain "information recorded in criminal proceedings that are

Ms. Andrea L. Stone SPR19/2007 Page 2 October 16, 2019 not dismissed before arraignment," as described above. The City has not satisfied the requirements under Exemption (a) in its response. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to review the requests made by Attorney Codagnone and provide a written response to Attorney Codagnone, 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Amy Codagnone, Esq.