Sent
by certified mail, return receipt
June
16, 1998
Sergeant
John Coates
Harvard
Police Department
Harvard
Town Hall, Ayer Road
Harvard,
MA 01451
Dear
Sergeant John Coates:
This
is a request for a copy of any and
all Harvard Police Department records
on a on- site home investigation of
a party on or about January 16, 1998
at the residence of Linda S. Wright
at 10 Peninsula Road, Harvard,
MA.
This
is also a request for any and all
records and documents on any additional
follow-up investigation resulting
from this incident.
This
information is requested pursuant
to the Massachusetts General Law Chapter
66 §10 and c.4§7part26.
If
it is contended that portions of these
records should be confidential, and
I do not believe this to be the case,
I request a copy of the public excerpts.
I have
enclosed $1 to cover the standard
by mail copy cost which with the $4.00
change Chief Chase and the Town of
Harvard owes me from a request last
Summer provides the total required
amount of $5. Please note the law
a custodian of a
public record shall, within ten days
following receipt of a request for
inspection or copy of a public record,
comply with such request.
Please
send the requested documents as soon
as possible. Thank you.
Sincerely,
J.
William Wright, III
NOT
INCLUDED in letter:
4 §
7, Cl. Twenty-sixth JURISDICTION OF
COMMONWEALTH
Twenty-sixth,
"Public records" shall mean
all books, papers, maps, photo-graphs.
recorded tapes. financial statements,
statistical tabulations, or other
documentary materials or data, regardless
of physical form or characteristics,
made or received by any officer or
employee of any agency, executive
office, department, board, commission,
bureau, division or authority of the
common-wealth, or of any political
subdivision thereof, or of any authority
established by the general court to
serve a public purpose. unless such
materials or data fall within the
following exemptions in that they
are:
(a)
specifically or by necessary implication
exempted from disclosure by statute;
(h)
related solely to internal personnel
rules and practices of the government
unit, provided however, that such
records shall be withheld only to
the extent that proper performance
of necessary; governmental functions
requires such withholding:
(c)
personnel and medical files or information:
also any other materials or data relating
to a specifically named individual,
the disclosure of which may constitute
an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy:
(d)
interagency or intra-agencv memoranda
or letters relating to policy positions
being developed by the agency; but
this subclause shall not apply to
reasonably completed factual studies
or reports on which the development
of such policy positions has been
or may be based:
(e)
notebooks and other materials prepared
by an employee of the commonwealth
which are personal to him and not
maintained as part of the files of
the governmental unit:
135
4 §
7, Cl. Twenty-sixth JURISDICTION OF
COMMONWEALTH
(f)
investigatory materials necessarily
compiled out of the public view by
law enforcement or other investigatorv
officials the disclosure of which
materials would probably so prejudice
the possibility of effective law enforcement
that such disclosure would not be
in the public interest;
(g)
trade secrets or commercial or financial
information voluntarily provided to
an agency for use in developing governmental
policy and upon a promise of confidentialitv;
but this subclause shall not apply
to information submitted as required
by law or as a condition of receiving
a governmental contract or other benefit;
(h)
proposals and bids to enter into any
contract or agreement until the time
for the opening of bids in the case
of proposals or bids to be opened
publicly, and until the time for the
receipt of bids or proposals has expired
in all other cases; and inter-agency
or intra-agency communications made
in connection with an evaluation process
for reviewing bids or proposals, prior
to a decision to enter into negotiations
with or to award a contract to, a
particular person.
(i)
appraisals of real property acquired
or to be acquired until (l)
a final agreement is entered into;
or (2) any litigation relative to
such appraisal has been terminated;
or (3) the time within which to commence
such litigation has expired.
(j)
the names and addresses of any persons
contained in, or referred to in, any
applications for any licenses to carry
or possess firearms issued pursuant
to chapter one hundred and forts'
or any firearms identification cards
issued pursuant to said chapter one
hundred and forty and the names and
addresses on sales or transfers of
any firearms, rifles, shotguns, or
machine guns or ammunition therefor,
as defined in said chapter one hundred
and forty and the names and addresses
on said licenses or cards.
(k)
DeletedbySt.l98~,c. lS0.§ 1.
(l)
test questions and answers, scoring
keys and sheets, and other examina-tion
data used to administer a licensing
examination; provided, however, that
such materials are used to administer
another examination.
(m)
contracts for hospital or related
health care services between (i) any
hospital. clinic or other health care
facility operated by a unit of state,
county or municipal government and
(ii) a health maintenance organization
arrangement approved under chapter
one hundred and seventy-six I, a nonprofit
hospital service corporation or medical
service corporation organized pursuant
to chapter one hundred and seventy-six
A and chapter one hundred and seventy'
-six B. respectively. a health insurance
corporation licensed under chapter
ore hundred and seventy-five or any
legal entitv that is self insured
and provides health care benefits
to its employees.
Any
person denied access to public records
may pursue the remedy provided for
in section ten o( chapter sixty-six.
MASSACHUSETTS
GENERAL LAW CHAPTER 66 SECTION 10
(a)
Every person having custody of any
public record, as defined in clause
Twenty-sixth of section seven of chapter
four shall, at reasonable times and
without unreasonable delay, permit
it, or any segregable portion of a
record which is an independent public
record, to be inspected and examined
by any person, under his supervision.
and shall furnish one copy thereof
upon payment of a reasonable fee.
Every person for whom a search of
public records is made shall, at the
direction of the person having custody
of such records, pay the actual expense
of such search. The following fees
shall apply to any public record in
the custody of the state police, the
Massachusetts bay transportation authority
police or any municipal police departments
or fire department: for preparing
and mailing a motor vehicle accident
report, five dollars for not more
than six pages and fifty cents for
each additional page, for preparing
and mailing a fire insurance report
five dollars for not more than six
pages pIus fifty cents for each additional
page; for preparing and mailing crime.
incident or miscellaneous reports,
one dollar per page, for furnishing
any j).public record in hand, to a
person requesting such records, fifty
cents per page. A page shall be defined
as one side of an eight and one-half
inch by eleven inch sheet of paper.
(b)
A custodian of a public record shall,
within ten days following receipt
of a request for inspection or copy
of a public record, comply with such
request. Such request may be delivered
in hand to the office or the custodian
or mailed via first class mail If
the custodian refuses or fails to
comply with such a request, the person
making the request may petition the
supervisor of records for a determination
whether the record requested is public.
Upon the determination by the supervisor
of records that the record is public,
he shall order the custodian of the
public record to comply with the person's
request. If the custodian refuses
or tails to comply with any such order.
the supervisor of records may notify
the attorney general or the appropriate
district attorney thereof who may
take whatever measures he deems necessary
to insure compliance with the provisions
of this section. The administrative
remedy provided by this section shall
in no way limit the availability of
the administrative remedies provided
by the commissioner of administration
and finance with respect to any officer
or employee of any agency, executive
office. department or board; nor shall
the administrative remedy provided
by this section in any way limit the
availability of judicial remedies
otherwise available to any person
requesting a public record. If a custodian
of a public record refuses or fails
to comply with the request of any
person for inspection or copy of a
public record or with an administrative
order under this section. the supreme
judicial or superior court shall have
jurisdiction to order compliance.
(c)
In any court proceeding pursuant to
paragraph (b) there shall be a presumption
that the record sought is public and
the burden shall be upon the custodian
to prove with specificty the exemption
which applies.
(d)
The clerk of every city or town shall
post, in a conspicuous place in the
city or town hall in the vicinity
of the clerk's office, a brief printed
statement that any citizen may, at
his discretion, obtain copies of certain
public records from local officials
for a tee as provided for in this
chapter.
The
executive director of the criminal
history systems board, the criminal
history systems board and its agents.
servants, and attorneys including
the keeper of the records of the firearms
records bureau of said department,
or any licensing authority, as defined
by chapter one hundred and forty shall
not disclose any records divulging
or tending to divulge the names and
addresses of persons who own or possess
firearms, rifles shotguns, machine
guns and ammunition therefor, as defined
in said chapter one hundred and forty
and names and addresses of persons
licensed to carry and/or possess the
same to any person, firm, corporation,
entity or agency except criminal justice
agencies as defined in chapter six
and except to the extent such information
relates solely to the person making
the request and is necessary to the
official interests of the entity making
the request.
The
home address and home telephone number
of law enforcement, judicial, prosecutorial,
department of youth services, correctional
and any other public safety and criminal
justice system personnel shall not
be public records in the custody of
the employers of such personnel and
shall not be disclosed; provided,
however, that such information may
be disclosed to an employee organization
under chapter one hundred and fifty
E or to a criminal justice agency
as defined in section one hundred
and sixty-seven of chapter six The
name and home address and telephone
number of a family member of any such
personnel shall not be public records
in the custody of the employers of
the foregoing persons and shall not
be disclosed. The home address and
telephone number, or place of employment
or education of victims of adjudicated
crimes and of persons providing or
training in family planning services
and the name and home address and
telephone number, or place of employment
or education of a family member of
any of the foregoing shall not be
public records in the custody of a
government agency which maintains
records identifying such persons as
falling within such categories and
shall not be disclosed.
What
matters are exempt from disclosure
under Freedom of Information Act (5
USCS Sec. 552(b)(1)) as 'specifically
authorized under criteria established
by an Executive order to be kept secret
in the interest of national1 defense
or foreign policy." 29 ALR Fed
606
Freedom
of Information Act exemption (5 USCS
Sec. 552(b)(5)) for inter-agency and
intra-agency memorandums or letters
as applicable to communications to
or from attorneys for the government.
54 ALR Fed 280.
What
constitutes 'confidential source"
within Freedom of information Act
exemption permitting nondisclosure
of identity of confidential source
and in specified instances. of confidential
information furnished only by confidential
source (5 USCS Sec. 522(b)(7)(D)).
59 ALR Fed 550.
Who
has standing to seek access to agency
information under Freedom of Information
Act. 82 ALR Fed 248
|
[1997 Pocket
BOOK UPDATE]
|
|
7. Definitions
of statutory terms; statutory
construction
|
In
construing statutes the following
words shall have the meanings herein
given, unless a contrary intention
clearly appears:
[See
main volume for clauses First to Twenty-fifth]
Twenty-sixth,
"Public records" shall mean
all books, papers, maps, photographs,
recorded tapes, financial statements,
statistical tabulations, or other
documentary materials or data, regardless
of physical form or characteristics,
made or received by any officer or
employee of any agency, executive
office, department, board, commission,
bureau, division or authority of the
commonwealth, or of any political
subdivision thereof, or of any authority
established by the general court to
serve a public purpose, unless such
materials or data fall within the
following exemptions in that they
are:
[See
main volume for (a) to (g)]
(h)
proposals and bids to enter into any
contract or agreement until the time
for the opening of bids in the case
of proposals or bids to be opened
publicly, and until the time for the
receipt of bids or proposals has expired
in all other cases; and inter-agency
or intra-agency communications made
in connection with an evaluation process
for reviewing bids or proposals, prior
to a decision to enter into negotiations
with or to award a contract to, a
particular person;
(i)
appraisals of real property acquired
or to be acquired until (1) a final
agreement is entered into; or (2)
any litigation relative to such appraisal
has been terminated; or (3) the time
within which to commence such litigation
has expired;
(j)
the names and addresses of any persons
contained in, or referred to in, any
applications for any licenses to carry
or possess firearms issued pursuant
to chapter one hundred and forty or
any firearms identification cards
issued pursuant to said chapter one
hundred and forty and the names and
addresses on sales or transfers of
any firearms, rifles, shotguns, or
machine guns or ammunition therefor,
as defined in said chapter one hundred
and forty and the names and addresses
on said licenses or cards;
(k)
Deleted by St.1988, c. 180, § 1.
(1)
questions and answers, scoring
keys and sheets and other materials
used to develop, administer or score
a test, examination or assessment
instrument; provided, however, that
such materials are intended to be
used for another test, examination
or assessment instru-ment;
[See
main volume for (m)]
Any
person denied access to public records
may pursue the remedy provided for
in section ten of chapter sixty-six.
Amended
by St.1996, c. 204, § 3; St.1996,
c. 450, §§ 1 to 4. |