Christian A. Williams v. Massachusetts State Police (SPR 20221227)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 8, 2022 SPR22/1227 Allison Mondello Research Analyst Department of State Police Office of the Chief Legal Counsel 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Mondello: I have received the petition of Christian A. Williams, of Harvard Law School – Criminal Justice Institute, appealing the response of the 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 May 23, 2022, Mr. Williams requested: “copies of all emails sent or received by the [Department] regarding the July 3, 2021 arrest of [eleven identified person], on Route 95 in Wakefield, Massachusetts. This request is limited to emails sent or received between July 3, 2021-August 31, 2021.” On May 24th, the Department provided a response denying the request in its entirety under Exemptions (a), (c) and (f) of the Public Records Law. The Department indicated it “…conducted a diligent search and located a responsive record which cannot be released at this time because the incident relating to your request is the subject of criminal prosecution.” As a result of the Department’s May 24th response, Mr. Williams petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. 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

Allison Mondello SPR22/1227 Page 2 June 8, 2022 Burden of specificity; segregable portions The Department claimed Exemption (a) to withhold the record(s) without providing the applicable Massachusetts General Law that operates through Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law to allow such withholding. In addition, the Department claimed Exemptions (c) and (f) without properly supporting how these exemptions apply to withhold the record(s) in its/their entirety. Pursuant to the Public Records Law, the burden shall be upon the records custodian to establish the applicability of an exemption. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); see also Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511. The Department also has the burden of demonstrating how a responsive record, in its entirety, is exempt from disclosure. See Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature). The Department must produce any non-exempt, segregable portions of the public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a). Furthermore, the Department did not identify the record(s), categories of records or portions of records in its possession that it intends to withhold from disclosure under Exemptions (a), (c) and (f). To deny access to a record under the Public Records Law, a records access officer must identify the record, categories of records, or portions of the record it intends to withhold. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 CMR 32.06(3)(c)(4). Here, the Department withheld a responsive record without identifying the specific record. It is also unclear whether the Department is in possession of the requested emails. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Williams with a response to the request, 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: Christian A. Williams, Harvard Law School, Criminal Justice Institute