Andrew Quemere v. Bristol County District Attorney's Office (SPR 20202089)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 9, 2020 SPR20/2089 Mary Lee, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Office of the Bristol County District Attorney 888 Purchase Street New Bedford, MA 02740 Dear Attorney Lee: I have received the petition of Mr. Andrew Quemere appealing the nonresponse of the Office of the Bristol County District Attorney (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on September 21, 2020, Mr. Quemere requested the following records: ● “All lists, logs, or data sets about misconduct by prosecutors and/or complaints against prosecutors.” ● “All regular (e.g., quarterly, annual, etc) audits/reviews of misconduct by prosecutors and/or complaints against prosecutors. (I am referring to audits/reviews of an entire department/division or the entire office, not reports about individual employees).” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Quemere 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, § 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). 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

Mary Lee, Esq. SPR20/2089 Page 2 November 9, 2020 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 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a 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. Order Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, the Office has yet to provide a response with respect to Mr. Quemere’s request. 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. Mr. Quemere may appeal the substantive nature of the Office’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Andrew Quemere