Jon Cubetus v. Massachusetts Department of State Police (SPR 20213122)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 14, 2021 SPR21/3122 Jennifer M. Staples, Esq. Office of the Chief Legal Counsel Massachusetts Department of State Police General Headquarters 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Attorney Staples: I have received the petition of Jon Cubetus of the Boston College Innocence Program appealing the nonresponse of the Massachusetts Department of State Police (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 15, 2021, Mr. Cubetus requested records related to forensic testing performed in a certain court case. Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Cubetus petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR21/3122, was opened as a result. 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 from receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(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, § 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it is unclear if a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Cubetus 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 the 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. 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

Jennifer M. Staples, Esq. SPR21/3122 Page 2 December 14, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jon Cubetus