Louis Mathews v. Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office (SPR 20200770)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 27, 2020 SPR20/0770 Attorney Tara Miltimore Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office 3231 Main Street Barnstable, MA 02360 Dear Attorney Miltimore: I have received the petition of Louis Matthews appealing the nonresponse of the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Matthews requested “applications for search warrants relevant to a case regarding the requestor.” Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § l0(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. As of the date of this letter, it is my understanding that the Office has not yet complied with Mr. Matthew’s request. The Office is ordered to provide a response to the request in accordance with the Public Records Law and its Regulations as soon as practicable. Mr. Matthews may appeal the substantive nature of the response within ninety days. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Louis Matthews 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