Grace Ferguson v. Essex County Correctional Facility (SPR 20220761)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 15, 2022 SPR22/0761 Scott Sullivan Essex County Correctional Facility P.O Box 807 Middleton, MA 01949 Dear Mr. Sullivan: I have received the petition of Grace Ferguson appealing the nonresponse of the Essex County Correctional Facility (Facility) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Ferguson requested internal affairs records related to domestic violence and sexual misconduct. 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. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal and a communication from a member of the Public Records Division staff, it is not clear that a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Facility is ordered to provide Ms. Ferguson 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: Grace Ferguson 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