Darius Gibson v. Suffolk County District Attorney's Office (SPR 20250259)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 11, 2025 SPR25/0259 Fredric F. Ignacio Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office One Bulfinch Place, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02114 Dear Mr. Ignacio: I have received the petition of Darius Gibson appealing the response of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (Office) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 14, 2024, Mr. Gibson requested, “[f]or Docket Number 2012CR11036, can you please provide me the following, [a]ny documentation of Plea Deals being offered to [an identified attorney].” Prior Appeal The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR24/3277 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 17, 2024). In the December 17th determination, I found that despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether the Office has provided a response. Accordingly, the Office was ordered to provide Mr. Gibson with a response. The Office provided a response on November 27, 2024. Mr. Gibson appealed and SPR25/0259 was opened as a result. 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 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

Fredric F. Ignacio SPR25/0259 Page 2 February 11, 2025 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The Office’s November 27th response In its November 27, 2024 response, the Office stated, “…[o]ur Office is processing your request and are coordinating with the appropriate departments to determine the status of responsible materials. Our office will contact you within the next 10 business days with updates related to your request.” Current appeal In his petition, Mr. Gibson stated, “…I received a response 11-27-24 acknowledging my request stating it would providing a update in 10 days as to this request [sic]. As of 1-22-25 I have not received any updates or responses.” Timeliness in providing records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Mr. Gibson submitted his request on November 14, 2024, and the Office has not provided the responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the Office has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the Office must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Office must provide responsive records on a rolling basis.

Fredric F. Ignacio SPR25/0259 Page 3 February 11, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Gibson with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Gibson may appeal the substantive nature of the Office’s response within 90 calendar days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Darius Gibson Marc Phinney