Andrew Quemere v. Middlesex County District Attorney's Office (SPR 20201930)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 21, 2020 SPR20/1930 Daniel M. DeBlander, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Middlesex District Attorney’s Office 15 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 300 Woburn, MA 01801 Dear Attorney DeBlander: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the nonresponse of the Middlesex 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, on October 7, 2020, Mr. Quemere requested: ● All letters, emails, and other documentation from law enforcement agencies and correctional institutions advising your office of Brady/Giglio information. "Brady/Giglio information" refers to information regarding credibility problems or other issues with a law enforcement/correctional officer that might need to be disclosed to a criminal defendant. You can limit your search to the years 2009 to 2020. ● All letters, emails, and other documentation sent by your office to criminal defendants or their counsel disclosing Brady/Giglio information. You can limit your search to the years 2009 to 2020. 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, § 10A(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, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for theNorfolk 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a 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

Attorney DeBlander SPR20/1930 Page 2 October 20, 2020 written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. I understand that the Office is aware of this appeal and is working on a response. In a letter to this office dated October 20, 2020, the Office expressed it “intends to provide the requester with a formal response letter and any responsive records as soon as practicable. Our office continues to work remotely during the COVID19 emergency and has also experienced staffing changes in our Public Records Team. This has resulted in delays to some requests.” Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Quemere with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 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: Andrew Quemere Kim Gouveia