David Milton, Esq. v. Bristol County Sheriff's Office (SPR 20200228)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 20, 2020 SPR20/0228 Lorraine J, Rousseau, Esq. Records Access Officer Bristol County Sheriffs Office 400 Faunce Corner Road North Dartmouth, MA 02747 Dear Attorney Rousseau: I have received the petition of Attorney David Milton appealing the nonresponse of the Bristol County Sheriffs Office (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on December 2, 2019, Attorney Milton requested: 1. "Any policies or protocols pertaining to the screening, diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C." 2. "Any reports, documents, or data on the number of prisoners with Hepatitis .... " Claiming to not yet have received a response, Attorney Milton petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. 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, § 1O (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. 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

Lorraine J. Rousseau, Esq. SPR20/0228 Page 2 February 20, 2020 If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Appeal Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the Office provided a partial response. In their February 7th response the Office explains that "[w]ith respect to #1, please find the Bristol Country Sheriff Office's policy regarding Infectious and Communicable Diseases." Further "[w]ith respect to #2, we are working to determine what (if any) BCSO records are responsive to your request." On February 18th, Attorney Milton responded to the Office by explaining that "[w]hile this policy is responsive to my request, I am looking more specifically for the protocols for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of Hepatitis C. These would be clinical guidelines that would spell out things like screening procedures, what tests or labs are performed, who is eligibie for treatment, what therapies are available, what monitoring is done, and so forth." It is my understanding that a member of the Public Records Division staff has been in contact with the Office. The Office indicated that they are aware of Attorney Milton's clarification regarding the first part of his request and that a response will be provided to Attorney Milton. As of this date, a complete response has not been provided. Order Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Attorney Milton with a response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations without delay. 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: Attorney David Milton