Kathryn K. Ohren v. Suffolk County District Attorney's Office (SPR 20221056)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 19, 2022 SPR22/1056 Claudia Buruca Records Access Officer Public Records Unit Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney One Bulfinch Place, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02114 Dear Ms. Buruca: I have received the petition of Attorney Kathryn Ohren appealing the response of the Suffolk County 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). On December 16, 2021, Attorney Ohren requested “…the file in Commonwealth v. Daniel Harris, 0884CR 11265.” At the time of the appeal, the Office did not respond and Attorney Ohren petitioned this office. This appeal, SPR22/1056, was opened as result. Subsequently, I learned that the Office responded on May 18, 2022. 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 agency or municipality 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 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. 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 SPR22/1056 Page 2 May 19, 2019 The Office’s May 18th Response In its response, the Office stated, “I will provide a response to Attorney Ohren soon.” Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Attorney Ohren with said 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: Kathryn Ohren, Esq.