Murat Erkan, Esq. v. Suffolk County District Attorney's Office (SPR 20220745)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 5, 2022 SPR22/0745 Claudia Buruca Records Access Officer Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office One Bulfinch Place, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02114 Dear Ms. Buruca: I have received your petition on behalf of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (Office) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Office furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On October 21, 2021, Attorney Murat Erkan of Erkan & Associates, LLC requested: (a) criminal complaints with docket numbers, (b) indictments with docket numbers, (c) disposition data regarding (a) and (b) above in which the Commonwealth charged any of the following offenses from April 23, 2018 to present: 1: Manslaughter by MV (G.L. c. 265 s 13 1/2) 2: Homicide by MV (G.L. c. 90 s 24G) 3: Leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting (G.L. c. 90 s 24(2)(a 1/2)(2)). Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; 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

Claudia Buruca SPR22/0745 Page 2 April 5, 2022 (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition, dated March 30, 2022, the Office seeks “…an extension of time under G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) and 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4), in order to respond to Attorney Murat Erkan’s request.” Specifically, the Office seeks a 10 business day extension. The Office states, “[t]his extension of time is necessary, as I was out of the office starting on March 18, 2022 and returned on March 29, 2022. During that time frame, I received two appeals and twelve requests, which I have been processing since my return. I am the sole Records Access Officer for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and will need additional time to respond to the SPR determination that came in two days before my leave.” In his March 30th letter to the Office, Attorney Erkan states, “I do not object to an extension not exceeding 10 days.” Conclusion In light of the March 30th letter from Attorney Erkan, I find it unnecessary to opine on the Office’s time petition. Further, this office encourages Attorney Erkan and the Office to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii).

Claudia Buruca SPR22/0745 Page 3 April 5, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Murat Erkan, Esq.