"ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
"May 9, 2016
"Ms. Elaine Nicholson
"Assistant City Attorney
"Law Department
"City of Austin
"P.O. Box 1088
"Austin, Texas 78767-8828
"OR2016-10476
"Dear Ms. Nicholson:
"You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 609248.
"The City of Austin (the "city") received a (Feb. 15, 2016-dated E-mail public-information) request (from John Kevin McMillan of northwest Austin, a request officially received by the City of Austin on Feb. 16, 2016) for all documents or telephone messages generated or compiled by the city's Law Department (the "department") over a specified time period that relate to the requestor (John Kevin McMillan) and reference any of six specified items, as well as any document or telephone message that refers to the requestor over a specified time period. You claim some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.107(1) of the Government Code. We have considered the raised argument and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information.(Footnote 1).
"((Footnote 1:) This letter ruling assumes the submitted representative sample of information is truly representative of the requested information as a whole. This ruling does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested information to the extent that the other information is substantially different than that submitted to this office. See Gov't Code 552.301(e)(1)(D), .302, Open Records Division Nos. 499 at 6 (1988), 497 at 4 (1988).)
"Initially, you indicate, and we agree, some of the submitted information is not responsive to the request for information because it was not generated or compiled by the department. Furthermore, the requestor excludes from the scope of the request any documents that were written by the requestor (John Kevin McMillan of Austin). Accordingly, such information, which you have indicated and we have marked, is not responsive to the request for information. This ruling does not address the public availability of any information that is not responsive to the request and the city is not required to release such information in response to the request.
"Next, we note some of the requested information may be the subject of previous requests for information, in response to which this office issued Open Records Letter Nos. 2014-11839 (2014), 2014-12659 (2014), 2015-01083 (2015), 2015-07718 (2015), 2015-14734 (2015), and 2015-20555 (2015). In each of those open record rulings, we determined the city may withhold the submitted responsive information under section 552.107 of the Government Code. We have no indication the law, facts, and circumstances on which the prior rulings were based have changed. Accordingly, to the extent the information responsive to the current request is identical to the information previously requested and ruled upon by this office, we conclude the city may continue to rely on Open Records Letter Nos. 2014-11839, 2014-12659, 2015-01083, 2015-07718, 2015-14734, and 2015-20555 as previous determinations and withhold the previously ruled upon information in accordance with those rulings. However, with respect to the information that was not previously ruled upon by this office, we will address your argument against disclosure of this information.
"Section 552.107(1) of the Government Code protects information coming within the attorney-client privilege. See Gov't Code 552.107(1). When asserting the attorney-client privilege, a government body has the burden of providing the necessary facts to demonstrate the elements of the privilege in order to withhold the information at issue....
"You state the information you have marked consists of communications involving attorneys for the city and city employees in their capacities as clients. You state these communications were made in furtherance of the rendition of professional legal services to the city. You state these communications were intended to be, and have remained, confidential. Based on your representations and our review, we find you have demonstrated the applicability of the attorney-client privilege to the information at issue. Accordingly, the city may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.107(1) of the Government Code.
"In summary, to the extent the information responsive to the current request is identical to the information previously requested and ruled upon by this office, we conclude the city must continue to rely on Open Records Letter Nos. 2014-11839, 2014-12659, 2015-01083, 2015-07718, 2015-14734, and 2015-20555 as previous determinations and withhold or release the previously ruled upon information in accordance with those rulings. The city may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.107(1) of the Government Code. The city must release the remaining information to the requestor.
"This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.
"This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning these rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/open.orl_ruling_info.shtml, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act may be directed to the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.
"Sincerely,
"Joseph Behnke
"Assistant Attorney General
"Open Records Division
"JB/som"
_______
(EXPLANATORY NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS THE EXACT VERBATIM TEXT OF THE FEBRUARY 15, 2016-DATED E-MAIL PUBLIC-INFORMATION REQUEST THAT THE CITED REQUESTOR, JOHN KEVIN McMILLAN OF AUSTIN, TEXAS, SUBMITTED TO THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF AUSTIN, WITH THE CITY HAVING OFFICIALLY RECEIVED THAT REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON FEB. 16, 2016. -- jkm)
On Monday, February 15, 2016 10:42 PM, John McMillan
Dear City of Austin Open Records Coordinator,
This is a Texas Open Records Act request in which I seek to obtain from the City Government of Austin in Austin, Texas, any and all applicable written documents or phone messages generated or written or compiled or sent or compiled or forwarded on behalf of any attorney employed by the City of Austin Law Department at any time since 12:01 a.m. April 17, 2011, and that, in each and every applicable case, referred at least once to myself, John Kevin McMillan of Austin, Texas, and that:
referred at least once in any manner or context that to a foreign nation, or to a U.S. state other than Texas, or to a U.S. city other than Austin, or that referred at least once in any way to either Travis County Government or Williamson County Government, or that referred in any way to any U.S. county other than the respective Texan counties of Travis and Williamson, or that referred in any way to any entity officially affiliated with or owned by or administered by the State Government of Texas.
Excluded from the scope of this public information request are any and all written communications that were solely authored by myself, John Kevin McMillan.
My date of birth is: April 27, 1957. I have resided in Austin proper on a continuous and uninterrupted basis ever since mid-March 1997. I am a lifelong single gentleman, and I have never been married to anyone.
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF THIS TWO-PART PUBLIC-INFORMATION REQUEST ARE ANY AND ALL LEGAL documents or phone messages GENERATED OR WRITTEN OR SENT OR FORWARDED AT ANY TIME SINCE AUGUST 23, 2015, BY ANY EMPLOYEE OR OFFICIAL OF THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND THAT, IN EACH SUCH CASE, WERE NOT EXCLUSIVELY AUTHORED BY MYSELF, JOHN KEVIN McMILLAN, AND THAT, IN ADDITION, REFERRED AT LEAST ONCE TO MYSELF, JOHN KEVIN McMILLAN OF AUSTIN, IN ANY MANNER OR ANY WAY.
Thank you in advance for your prompt and very thorough reply letter providing me with any and all responsive documents responsive to this TWO-PART public-information request from myself that cites two different time frames for each part of this two-part request for information.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
from criminal-law complainant and self-identified personal-injury-crimes victim John Kevin McMillan.
My home address ever since late September 2015:
Village Oaks Apartments, 10926 Jollyville Road, Building 9, Apt. 902, Austin, Texas, 78759.
Home phone: (512) 342-2295.
My E-mail address: mcmillanj@att.net
_________
(EXPLANATORY NOTE: THE FOLLOWING ARE QUOTED PORTIONS OF THE TEXT OF THE CITED MARCH 1, 2016-DATED AND SIGNED OFFICIAL CITY OF AUSTIN LAW DEPARTMENT LEGAL LETTER ON OFFICIAL CITY OF AUSTIN LAW DEPARTMENT STATIONERY THAT ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY ELAINE NICHOLSON SIGNED AND MAILED TO ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS KEN PAXTON:)
"March 1, 2016
"Honorable Ken Paxton
"Attorney General of Texas
"Open Records Division
"MC-014
"P.O. Box 12548
"Austin, Texas 78711-2548
"Re: Open Records Request from Mr. John (Kevin) McMillan received February 16, 2016 (footnote(:) Mr. McMillan submitted his request by electronic mail on Monday, February 15, 2016. The City's administrative offices were closed in observance of President's Day. Thus, Mr. McMillan's request was constructively received on Tuesday, February 16, 2016.)
"Dear Attorney General Paxton,
"The City of Austin (the "City") received a request for information from Mr. John McMillan on February 16, 2016. Thus, today is the tenth business day since the City's receipt of Mr. McMillan's request. The City believes some of the information responsive to the request is excepted from disclosure under section 552.107 of the Government Code. This letter is a request for a determination under section 552.301 of the Government Code that some of the requested information is so excepted. Copies of the request and representative samples of the information at issue are enclosed.
"By copy of this letter the City is notifying the requestor that the City is seeking to withhold some of the responsive information represented by the enclosed samples and has asked for a decision from the Attorney General about whether this information is within an exception to public disclosure.
"Section 552.107(1) protects information coming within the attorney-client privilege. When asserting the attorney-client privilege, a governmental body has the burden of providing the necessary facts to demonstrate the elements of the privilege in order to withhold the information at issue. Open Records Decision No. 676 at 6-7 (2002).
"...
"The submitted information consists of confidential communications between and amongst the Law Department and Austin Police Department. These communications were made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of professional legal services and the confidentiality of these communications has been maintained. Accordingly, the City believes that the information represented by the enclosed examples is excepted from disclosure under section 552.107(1).
"If you have any questions concerning this matter, please feel free to contact me at (512) 974-6463.
"Sincerely,
"Elaine Nicholson
"Assistant City Attorney
"cer/Enclosure"
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please Leave Your Comments Here.